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Household’s Perception of Water Quality and Willingness to Pay for Clean Water in Mexico City

Author

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  • Lilia Rodríguez-Tapia

    (Departamento de Economía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Azcapotzalco. Av. San Pablo No. 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Del. Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México C.P. 02200, Mexico)

  • Daniel A. Revollo-Fernández

    (CONACYT-UAM, Área de Crecimiento y Medio Ambiente, Departamento de Economía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Azcapotzalco. Av. San Pablo No. 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Del. Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México, C.P. 02200, Mexico)

  • Jorge A. Morales-Novelo

    (Departamento de Economía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Azcapotzalco. Av. San Pablo No. 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Del. Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México C.P. 02200, Mexico)

Abstract

A 2011 survey of Mexico City’s households revealed that families prefer alternative sources of drinking water instead of relying in the city’s quality supply services. These include the purchase of bottled water, installation of filtration devices, and other means of water purification. The demand for better water quality was tested by estimating the household’s willingness to pay (WTP), using a contingency valuation (CV) experiment through an open-format questionnaire and by estimating a censored econometric (Tobit) model. The econometric study revealed that the WTP for better water quality is influenced by variables related with distrust of the water quality provided by the City and the organoleptic characteristics of the water supply, as well as spending on bottled water or water purification technologies. The average WTP surcharge for better potable water quality is US$3.1 or 4.7% of the bimonthly water bill, which is about 0.22% of the average family income in Mexico City. The percentage of WTP to income is bigger in poor families. This suggests that improving water quality is of greater importance for lower income families. Findings are consistent with previous studies that estimated the WTP for improvements in the services that supply water to households in the city. These include reduction of inefficiency and intermittency of the supply along with water quality, improve measuring water meters, reducing the obsolescence of the infrastructure and increasing adequate maintenance. Our research is the first to estimate the WTP for better water quality in Mexico City and constitutes a reference point for those that address the problem of water quality and its impact on the welfare and income of families.

Suggested Citation

  • Lilia Rodríguez-Tapia & Daniel A. Revollo-Fernández & Jorge A. Morales-Novelo, 2017. "Household’s Perception of Water Quality and Willingness to Pay for Clean Water in Mexico City," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:5:y:2017:i:2:p:12-:d:95474
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Sana AKHTAR & Sarah DEAN & Faiza ANJUM & Maryam JAVED, 2018. "Determination of Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Supply in Selected Areas of Lahore," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(02), pages 1-12, June.
    4. Bohara Bikash & Masaru Ichihashi, 2022. "Household Preferences for Improved Solid Waste Management (SWM) Services: A Randomized Conjoint Analysis in Kathmandu Metropolitan Ward No. 10," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Massarutto, Antonio, 2020. "Servant of too many masters: Residential water pricing and the challenge of sustainability," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Shivaraj Thapa & Subina Shrestha & Ram Kumar Adhikari & Suman Bhattarai & Deepa Paudel & Deepak Gautam & Anil Koirala, 2022. "Residents’ willingness-to-pay for watershed conservation program facilitating ecosystem services in Begnas watershed, Nepal," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 7811-7832, June.
    7. Rodgers Makwinja & Ishmael Bobby Mphangwe Kosamu & Chikumbusko Chiziwa Kaonga, 2019. "Determinants and Values of Willingness to Pay for Water Quality Improvement: Insights from Chia Lagoon, Malawi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-26, August.
    8. Hyde, Kelly, 2020. "The Regressive Costs of Drinking Water Contaminant Avoidance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 703, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Francisco B. Galarza & Max Carbajal & Julio Aguirre, 2022. "Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Service: Evidence from Urban Peru," Working Papers 185, Peruvian Economic Association.
    10. Beard, Victoria A. & Mitlin, Diana, 2021. "Water access in global South cities: The challenges of intermittency and affordability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).

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