Water prices can convey critical information regarding scarcity, availability, and opportunity costs. Carefully crafted water tariffs enable public officials to achieve socially desirable objectives, such as providing subsidies to poor households and discouraging inefficient water use by...

Urban water tariffs vary substantially across cities and regions, for reasons that reflect water scarcity conditions, local or regional objectives, and political considerations. Comparisons of average water prices across regions are not generally meaningful, as the prices are not weighted or...