The economic and social impacts of water trading

Report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

Water markets were established in Australia in the early 1980s in response to competing pressures on water resources from users and for the environment. Markets are often seen as a way of facilitating more efficient use of an increasingly scarce resource by enabling water to move to higher value uses. While open and robust water markets are likely to provide significant benefits to individuals, communities, the environment, and the economy more broadly, some stakeholders have expressed concerns about the adverse economic and social impacts of water trade.

In this study, Frontier (Australia) develops a framework for understanding the impacts of water trading on individual water entitlement holders, industries and communities in the Victorian Murray Valley.

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