Research & Teaching Interests

Water Markets and Political Economy in Chile, the Free-Market Model

What does it mean to treat water as a commodity and to manage water resources through markets? These have been highly conflictive issues in the U.S. and internationally for the last few decades. The case of Chile has been a leading example of the free-market approach to water law and policy, and has often been praised as a model of success by the World Bank and related organizations. I have studied the Chilean water rights system since 1990, having lived in Chile for about six years, and I have sought to draw out the international lessons of the Chilean experience, both positive and negative. In particular I have tried to show that water markets are not simply economic mechanisms but instead are intimately connected to broader legal, institutional, and political frameworks for making decisions, allocating resources, and resolving conflicts. Hence the study of markets should not be left to economists.

Selected Publications (see also CV)

Books

(2015) Canto de Sirenas: El Derecho de Aguas Chileno como Modelo para Reformas Internacionales, expanded 2nd edition (Santiago, Chile: Ediciones El Desconcierto.cl).
(2004) Siren Song: Chilean Water Law as a Model for International Reform (Washington, DC: RFF Press). Published in Spanish in 2004 as Canto de Sirenas: El Derecho de Aguas Chileno como Modelo para Reformas Internacionales (Bilbao, Spain: Bakeaz).
(1998) Against the Current: Privatization, Water Markets, and the State in Chile (Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers). Published in Spanish in 2002 as Contra la Corriente: Privatización, Mercados de Agua y el Estado en Chile (www.lom.cl )

Articles

(2020) "La doctrina del public trust en EEUU en el contexto constitucional en Chile," Jornadas de Derecho de Agua (unpub.)
(2016) Las Aguas en Debate: Contrapunto Doctrinario
(2015) “Water conflicts and entrenched governance problems in Chile’s market model,” Water Alternatives Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 147-172
(2014) "?La ley del pendulo? Conflictos de aguas y gobernanza en Chile desde 2005,” Actas Jornadas de Derecho Ambiental
(2013) “The experience of water markets and the market model in Chile,” in Josefina Maestu, ed., Water Trading and Global Water Scarcity: International Experiences, pp. 130-143 (RFF Press).
(2005) “In the image of the market: The Chilean model of water resources management,” International Journal of Water
(2004) “Results of Chilean water markets: Empirical research since 1990,” Water Resources Research
(2003) “Marketing water, marketing reform: Lessons from the Chilean experience,” Resources. Published in Spanish as “Vendiendo agua, vendiendo reformas: Lecciones de la experiencia chilena,” Ambiente y Desarrollo
(1998) “Slippery property rights: Multiple water uses and the neoliberal model in Chile, 1981-1995,” Natural Resources Journal
(1997) “Bringing water markets down to earth: The political economy of water rights in Chile, 1976-1995,” World Development

Comparative and International Water Law and Policy

How have people in different parts of the world grappled with problems of growing water scarcity and conflict? Many countries have debated and attempted water law and policy reforms, taking different approaches to economic, social, and environmental concerns. My work in Chile has underlined Chile’s significance for international water policy debates (see previous section). I have also compared the Western U.S. to Spain (in Spanish publications).

See also both of my books and Current Work.

Selected Publications (see also CV)

(2021) Carl Bauer, Michael Blumm, Veronica Delgado, Matias Guiloff, Dominique Herve, Guillermo Jimenez, Pablo Marshall, Tomas McKay, "Proteccion de la naturaleza y una nueva Constitucion para Chile: Lecciones de la doctrina del public trust" [Protection of nature and a new Constitution for Chile: Lessons of the public trust doctrine], published in Spanish and English
(2018) Book review of Water Policy in Chile, by Guillermo Donoso, Water Alternatives, http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/boh/item/6-donoso
(2016) Political Economy of Water Markets, Ecosystem Economics/AMP Insights, http://www.ampinsights.com/rock-report
(2014) Book review of Tapping Water Markets, by Terry Anderson et al, Water Alternatives
(2011) Book review of Out of the Mainstream, by Rutgard Boelens, David Getches, and Armando Guevara-Gil, eds., Journal of Peasant Studies
(2010) “Market approaches to water allocation: Lessons from Latin America,” Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education
(2010) “El abanico de bancos de aguas en las Américas,” Estudios de Economía Aplicada
(2009) Dustin Garrick, Mark Siebentritt, Bruce Aylward, Carl Bauer, and Andrew Purkey, “Water markets and freshwater ecosystem services: Policy reform and implementation in the Columbia and Murray-Darling Basins,” Ecological Economics
(2009) Book review of Water, Place, and Equity, by John Whiteley, Helen Ingram, and Richard Perry, eds., Environmental Health Perspectives
(2005) (Contributing author) “Freshwater ecosystem services,” Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Policy Responses, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(2000) “Derechos de agua, hidroenergía, y la gestión ecológica de aguas: El caso del oeste norteamericano,” Revista de Derecho Administrativo Económico
(1996) “El mercado de aguas en California,” in Antonio Embid, ed., Precios y Mercados del Agua
(1993) “Water, property rights, and the State: The United States experience,” CEPAL Review (also published in Spanish).

Hydropower as Water/Energy Nexus

How do water and electricity systems and policies affect each other? In all countries the water and electricity sectors have separate histories and infrastructures, which interact in complicated ways. These interactions, sometimes called the “water/energy nexus,” have become more critical in today’s context of climate change, and harder to govern in the global context of markets and privatization. One key example of the water/energy nexus is hydroelectric power generation, since dams play a dual role in managing river systems and supplying power grids. I have studied hydropower in the Pacific Northwest (beginning with my M.S. thesis in the 1980s), in Argentina (as a Fulbright scholar and visiting professor in 2003), through nearly all of my work in Chile since 1991, and currently in California.

The importance of hydropower’s dual roles is changing both nationally and internationally, driven by changes in water and energy policies, climate policies, and growing environmental concerns. Some of my current research examines these issues in California, through a combination of historical and current policy analysis.

See also both of my books and Current Work.

Selected Publications (see also CV)

Property and Environment, Law and Geography

Beyond my obsessions with water and electricity, I am interested in the broader fields of property, law and economics, political economy, and institutional economics, particularly as they relate to nature and environment. I have tried to bridge the fields of law and geography with colleagues in both fields, e.g. by organizing sessions at conferences of the Law and Society Association and the American Association of Geographers.