The global water crisis has gotten wider public and political attention since the early 1990s. Growing demands for water have increased competition, conflict, and environmental impacts, so good water supplies have become relatively more scarce and valuable. Calls for policy reforms to improve how we allocate and manage water have led to disagreement on the approach those reforms should take. On...

The withdrawal of water for i r r igat ion in the d ryer regions of Mexico already accounts for some 91% of potential availabil i ty. Fur ther expansion of i r r igated acreage, therefore, must re ly more on increased water use efficiency ra ther than increased supply from engineering works. A pr ime ins t rument to br ing about such an improvement could be an appropriate water pr ic ing s t ru...