Carl Bauer discusses the economics of water, using the Chilean model to illustrate the ways in which the free-market approach often fails to address the important, long-term goals of environmental sustainability and social equity.

Carl Bauer argues persuasively for an economics of water that encompasses social, political, historical, cultural, and geographic factors--factors, he argues, that make all the difference in crafting policy that works as well in practice as it does in theory.

Presentation
Handout

Policy makers, development practitioners, economists, and environmentalists alike will find this a timely and thought-provoking debate on one of the most important economic issues facing the world today.

Bauer’s discussion is based on his new book, Siren Song: Chilean Water Law as a Model for International Reform.

Carl Bauer is a fellow at Resources for the Future and the author of Against the Current: Privatization, Water Markets, and the State in Chile.

Siren Song: Chilean Water Law as a Model for International Reform