New study reveals how urban water prices impact residential consumption globally.
The article provides estimates for how changes in the price of water and people's income affect how much water they use in cities. The researchers looked at data from many studies and found that there is bias in the published results. After correcting for this bias, they recommend different values for water price and income effects based on the country's income level. For lower-income countries, assuming a decrease in water use when prices go up and a small increase in water use with higher income is suggested. For higher-income countries, the impact of price changes on water use is smaller, and income has a minimal effect.