Siren Song

Chilean Water Law As a Model for International Reform
1. Auflage 2004
ISBN: 978-1-891853-79-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Inc

Buch, Englisch, 182 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 480 g

Increasing scarcity, conflict, and environmental damage are critical features of the global water crisis. As governments, international organizations, NGOs, and corporations have tried to respond, Chilean water law has seemed an attractive alternative to older legislative and regulatory approaches. Boldly introduced in 1981, the Chilean model is the worlds leading example of a free market approach to water law, water rights, and water resource management. Despite more than a decade of international debate, however, a comprehensive, balanced account of the Chilean experience has been unavailable. Siren Song is an interdisciplinary analysis combining law, political economy, and geography. Carl Bauer places the Chilean model of water law in international context by reviewing the contemporary debate about water economics and policy reform. He follows with an account of the Chilean experience, drawing on primary and secondary sources in Spanish and English, including interviews with key people in Chile. He presents the debate about reforming the law after Chile‘s 1990 return to democratic government, as well as emerging views about how water markets have worked in practice. The resulting book provides insights about law, economics, and public policy within Chile and lessons for the countries around the world that are wrestling with the challenges of water policy reform.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bauer, Carl J.

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Energie- & Versorgungswirtschaft Wasserwirtschaft
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltmanagement, Umweltökonomie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Chilean Water Model Comes of Age

1. The International Context: The Water Crisis and Debates about Water Policy

Integrated Water Resources Management

Perspectives on Water as an 'Economic Good'
Economic Interpretations of the Fourth Dublin Principle

Stretching the Neoclassical Paradigm: Institutional and Ecological Economics

International Significance of the Chilean Model

Water Markets and Water Policy in Other Countries

2. The Free-Market Model: Chile‘s 1981 Water Code

The 1980 Constitution: Foundation of the Water Code

'Legislative History' and Political Background

Chile‘s First Water Code (1951): Private Rights plus Strong Government

Chile‘s Second Water Code (1967): Swinging Left to Centralized Control

Water Rights after the 1973 Military Coup: Confusion and Neglect

Neoliberal Leanings (1976-1981): Private Property and Free Markets

The Final Version (1981): Compromise and Problems for Future Reform

3. Reforming the Reform? Policy Debate under Chilean Democracy

Reforming the Water Code: Mucho Ruido, Pocas Nueces

Round 1 (1990-1993): The Government Goes Too Far

Alternative Instruments: Water Rights Taxes versus Fees for Nonuse

Growing Emphasis on Economic Instruments and Analysis (1994-1995)

An Aside: Chilean Environmental Law

Round 2 (1996-2003): The Government Moderates Its Position

The Opposition Hardens
Constitutional Challenges of Fees for Nonuse

D j Vu All Over Again? The Revival of Water Rights Taxes

Pros and Cons of the Economic Instruments

The Bottom Line

4. The Results of Chilean Water Markets: Empirical Research since 1990

The Overall Trend: From Partisan Boosters to Greater Balance

Recent Chilean Overviews: Toward a Shared Diagnosis

The Limar River Basin: Poster Child for Chilean Water Markets

Issues Missing from the Research

Chile‘s National Water Policy in the Late 1990s

Missing Research Issue 1: Social Equity

Missing Research Issue 2: River Basin Management

Institutions f

Über Autor(innen)

Carl Bauer is a fellow at Resources for the Future. He works in the areas of comparative water law, policy, and management in Latin America and the United States, with a focus on political economy and property rights. Bauer has been a lecturer and post-doctoral researcher in environmental studies at the University of California Berkeley, as well as a visiting professor and Fulbright Scholar at universities in Chile and Argentina. He has been a consultant for the United Nations, the Global Water Partnership, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other international organizations on matters of water rights, water markets, and economic instruments for water resources management. Bauer‘s previous book was Against the Current: Privatization, Water Markets, and the State in Chile, which has also been published in Spanish. His current research examines the impacts of electricity deregulation on river basin management in South America and tries to bridge the gap between lawyers, economists, and geographers in environmental regulation.