Many economists and policy makers have begun to question the efficacy of water reforms that rely on markets as the principal mechanism for allocating the resource to its highest value use. One of the principal concerns in this regard has been the relative paucity of permanent trades despite ex...

The contribution of the grape growing and wine making industries to Australia’s continued economic prosperity is under threat. While international market dynamics are often cited as the cause, the problem of oversupply and more specifically calls for government intervention were the focus of...

The theoretical foundation of water market reforms presumes that such institutions will allow water to be traded from relatively low-value to higher-value uses and simultaneously accomplish many of the economic and environmental objectives ascribed to water resource managers. Numerous ex ante...

State and Federal governments are increasingly reliant on the re-purchase of water access rights as a vehicle for bringing ‘over-allocation’ in the Murray- Darling Basin into check. Not surprisingly, this has attracted criticism from several quarters, usually on the basis that such...