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WAS-guided cooperation in water: the grand coalition and sub-coalitions*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2009

FRANKLIN M. FISHER  and
ANNETTE HUBER-LEE
FRANKLIN M. FISHER
Affiliation:
Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Microeconomics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
ANNETTE HUBER-LEE
Affiliation:
Science Leader, Challenge Program for Water and Food, 127 Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatta, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. Email: a.huber-lee@cgiar.org
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Abstract

This paper builds on the earlier development of WAS – a method of dealing with water issues that focuses on water values rather than water quantities and takes into account public values that are not simply private ones (see Fisher et al., 2005). WAS can be used for infrastructure or policy planning, but it can also assist in the resolution of water disputes. Indeed, WAS-guided cooperation in water can turn what appears to be a zero-sum gain into a win-win situation. It is shown that if WAS sets the rules for cooperation, then, when all claimants use those rules, the coalition of all of them together is stable. Results for possible coalitions of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine are given for varying assumptions as to water ownership. The gains from cooperation are compared and analyzed. WAS-guided cooperation is seen to make the value of ownership shifts relatively trivial.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 14 , Issue 1: GAME THEORY, NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT , February 2009 , pp. 89 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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