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Household water bill perception in Brazil

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  • Pérez-Urdiales, María
  • Libra, Jesse M.
  • Machado, Kleber B.
  • Serebrisky, Tomás
  • Sosa, Ben Solís

Abstract

An issue that affects the effectiveness of water pricing policies is consumer misperception, which implies that households decide their water consumption based on poor/inaccurate information about the marginal price. We use household survey data on bill and quality perception in Brazil to analyze this problem and its drivers. Once we control for the selection bias caused by survey respondents voluntarily providing their bill, we find evidence of Bill misperception. Apart from the informational and socioeconomic drivers usually considered in the literature, perceived water quality is a relevant factor in misperception.

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  • Pérez-Urdiales, María & Libra, Jesse M. & Machado, Kleber B. & Serebrisky, Tomás & Sosa, Ben Solís, 2024. "Household water bill perception in Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:87:y:2024:i:c:s0957178723002163
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2023.101704
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Water pricing; Water quality; Price perceptions; Economics of information;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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