| Popis: |
User-pays as a principle for charging for the supply of regulated irrigation water is gaining acceptability by water authorities. This paper is concerned with the level of water charges, in particular, the capacity of farmers to pay increased prices for irrigation water. The main objective is to provide empirical estimates of water demand and supply, and to note the differences between statutory charges and market price, under different weather conditions in the Border Rivers Region of Queensland. The paper demonstrates, using a linear programming approach, that the equilibrium price for water typically is greater than the price charged by the supplying authority. The equilibrium price is also shown to sometimes be less than the price at which water is supplied. |
