Kling, Catherine L.; Weinberg, Marca; Wilen, James

American Journal of Agricultural Economics Vol. 75 no. 2 (January 1993): 278-91.

In addition to improving the allocative efficiency of water use, water markets may reduce irrigation-related water quality problems. This potential benefit is examined with a nonlinear programming model developed to simulate agricultural decision-making in a drainage problem area in California's San Joaquin Valley. Results indicate that a 30% drainage goal is achievable through improvements in irrigation practices and changes in cropping patterns induced by a water market. Although water markets will not generally achieve a least-cost solution, they may be a practical alternative to economically efficient, but informationally intensive, environmental policies such as Pigouvian taxes.