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Water: A pricing paradox

ASU economics professor talks about the true cost of this vital resource


Michael Hanemann KEDtalk
January 24, 2018

Orange juice. Cable television. Water.

Humans could live happily without the first two (albeit with some grumbles about missing the latest "Walking Dead"), but without water a person can’t live for very long at all. Yet we pay premiums for orange juice and cable and just pennies on the gallon for the gallons (and gallons) of water we use each month. This is especially true in the Phoenix area, where residents enjoy some of the lowest water rates in the country.

In an ASU KEDtalk that takes us past the tap, Michael Hanemann — director of the Center for Environmental Economics and Sustainability Policy at Arizona State University — invites us to explore this pricing paradox as he brings the true cost of water to the surface.

Short for Knowledge Enterprise Development talks, KEDtalks aim to spark ideas, indulge curiosity and inspire action by highlighting ASU scientists, humanists, social scientists and artists who are driven to find solutions to the universe’s grandest challenges. Tune in monthly to research.asu.edu/kedtalks to discover how the next educational revolution will come about, whether space is the next economic frontier and more.

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