Sustainable policy forwater pricing in Kuwait

Ali Aljamal, Mark Speece, Mohsen Bagnied

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research investigates consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for water in Kuwait as a foundation for policy decisions on reducing water subsidies. Heavy subsidies have encouraged unsustainable very high consumption, but efforts to cut subsidies can generate strong political opposition. A survey (n = 443) indicates that WTP is greater at lower prices, but resistance is not purely about price. The presence of a continued partial water subsidy for basic household use slightly increases WTP, probably mainly from perceptions of fairness. Information about Kuwait's water scarcity also has a small impact. All of these effect sizes are small, so we discuss these issues using a nudge framework from behavioral economics. A number of policies can foster small shifts in WTP; collectively they may have larger impact and make subsidy reduction relatively painless.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3257
JournalSustainability
Volume12
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2020

Keywords

  • Kuwait
  • Subsidies
  • Sustainability
  • Water pricing
  • Willingness to pay

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sustainable policy forwater pricing in Kuwait'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this