2002 World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists

Delhi has witnessed rapid urbanisation during the past fifty years, with ever increasing growth in population and economic activity leading to water-stress in several parts of the city. This paper looks at the valuation of water as an economic resource in the context of a low income, infrastructurally disadvantaged urban household. Two alternative exercises are conducted to assess the impacts of both the quantity and quality of water being accessed and consumed by households. An objective assessment of the damages is made by looking at the health costs borne by households reporting diarrhoeal illness by adopting a health production function approach. An alternative subjective assessment is made by conducting a contingent valuation exercise for these households. Subsequently, the study investigates the differences in the results between value judgements and damage assessment as revealed by the health costs approach. The study is based on a primary survey of households in urban Delhi.



	Paper Title:	Benefits Of Safe Water For The Urban Poor In Delhi, India: Alternative Valuation Measures
	Presenting Author:	Purnamita Dasgupta (Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India)
	Coauthor 1:
	Coauthor 2:
	Coauthor 3:
	Abstract:	Delhi has witnessed rapid urbanisation during the past fifty years, with ever increasing growth in population and economic activity leading to water-stress in several parts of the city. This paper looks at the valuation of water as an economic resource in the context of a low income, infrastructurally disadvantaged urban household. Two alternative exercises are conducted to assess the impacts of both the quantity and quality of water being accessed and consumed by households. An objective assessment of the damages is made by looking at the health costs borne by households reporting diarrhoeal illness by adopting a health production function approach. An alternative subjective assessment is made by conducting a contingent valuation exercise for these households. Subsequently, the study investigates the differences in the results between value judgements and damage assessment as revealed by the health costs approach. The study is based on a primary survey of households in urban Delhi.
	Link to paper:	Not available

	Session / Day / Time	15I / Thursday / 10:15 - 11:45 am

	Please use your browser's "back" button to get to the previous page.