Impacts of changing water ownership and reforms on Australian water markets. Water markets play a critical role in helping Australia’s food bowl survive periods of severe drought. This project aims to

Description

Impacts of changing water ownership and reforms on Australian water markets. Water markets play a critical role in helping Australia’s food bowl survive periods of severe drought. This project aims to evaluate how the Murray-Darling Basin water markets performed, in terms of the impact of water ownership, and investigate how water reforms have affected rural communities over the past two decades. Expected outcomes include a clearer understanding on how different water ownership structures impact price and price volatility of water, market power, economic welfare of water traders, and what social and economic impacts water reforms in the past decades have in the Basin. The findings will provide critical evidence for evaluating future water reforms, building resilient rural communities and safeguarding food security.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1402 - Applied Economics. Lead: Prof Alec Zuo