An interdisciplinary assessment of an agricultural-urban water market in Southern India: physical impacts, welfare consequences, and policy implications

This research project analyzes the rural-urban groundwater market in Chennai (formerly Madras, in South India), as a case study of water resources sustainability in a developing nation. The research develops a combined hydrogeological and economic framework to consider the biophysical and welfare impacts of future water demands in the region. In addition, this work examines the potential of public policies to alter the time-profiles of water supplies and demands and thereby enhance social welfare.

Principal Investigators:

Steve Gorelick Cyrus Fisher Tolman Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment

Larry Goulder Shuzo Nishihara Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research