A taxonomy of economic water policy instruments and their dynamic effects for sustainable water management
Submitted: 2025-08-27
|Accepted: 2026-05-04
|Published: 2026-06-26
Copyright (c) 2026 Esther Díaz-Cano, Julio Berbel, Nazaret M. Montilla-López, Carlos Gutiérrez-Martín
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Keywords:
Dynamic effect, economic instruments, taxonomy, water governance
Supporting agencies:
This research forms part of the project Horizon-Europe “GOVAQUA” (CL6 GOVERNANCE-01-06-10108657) and the AEI project WADECO (PID2023 146274OB-I00).
Abstract:
Economic instruments are widely used in environmental policy; however, their application in water governance often lacks contextual clarity. This paper presents an integrated taxonomy of economic instruments for sustainable water management and proposes a complementary, trajectory-based framework for assessing time-dependent performance. Interventions are characterised by implementation profile (single, discontinuous, or continuous) and by response type (static or dynamic, with reinforcing or eroding effects). Combining these dimensions clarifies how behavioural and institutional adjustment shapes outcomes over time, supporting the design and evaluation of robust, adaptable, and context-sensitive instruments for long-term water sustainability.
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