Residential water demand in a transition economy: evidence from Poland

Abstract

This paper analyzes residential water demand in Poland and the determinants thereof, including both water tariffs and income levels. Information on the price and income elasticities of residential water demand is crucial for effective management of water demand. We carried out this empirical analysis using several panel-data models. The analysis is based on data provided by the urban municipalities, in which the number of the end-users connected to water supply networks exceeded 50,000. We focused on the larger cities to obtain sample homogeneity in terms of the access to water supply and sewage collection systems, as well as the income structure. We found that the indicators of price elasticity of residential water demand in Poland are similar to those being known from the relevant surveys conducted in Western Europe. However, the income elasticity is smaller in absolute terms when compared to that in countries with more developed economies. Based on the results obtained, our prediction is that the decreasing trend of individual water consumption in Poland will slow down in the next few years. Our study is one of the first to investigate the price and income elasticities of water demand in Poland, and also one of the first such ones carried out for economies in transition.

Estimating the Determinants of Residential Water Demand in Italy

“…Although studies from the US have remained common since 2006 [17,18], many have also concentrated on developing countries ( [19] and references therein), for example, Marinoski et al [20] focused on Brazil and Araral and Wang [21] focused on key cities, states, and/or provinces in Southeast Asia. In addition, many European countries have featured in recent studies concerned with water consumption (Table 1), including France [22,23], Cyprus [24], Spain [25][26][27][28][29], Sweden [30,31], Germany [32], Denmark [33], Greece [34], and Poland [35]. Italy has been studied only with a regional and local focus: Mazzanti and Montini [10] studied the Emilia Romagna Region, Musolesi and Nosvelli [11] studied the Cremona Province, and Statzu and Strazzera [12] studied the island of Sardinia.…”

Analyse des déterminants de la demande d'eau potable en Algérie

“…Ces chiffres soutiennent l'idée que les abonnés ajustent leur consommation sur le long terme et rejoignent les résultats établis dans les travaux de RENWiCK et ARCHiBALD (1998), BURKEy (2002), CARTER et MiLoN (2005, BELL et gRiFFiN (2005), BARTCzAK et al (2007), MARTiNEz-ESPiNEiRA (2007) et KERToUS (2012. Selon ces mêmes auteurs, pour répondre à une augmentation des prix, les abonnés investissent dans des équipements peu consommateurs d'eau (e.g., chasses d'eau à double commande, robinets avec économiseur).…”

“…Les élasticités-prix calculées par ce paramètre révèlent une faible réaction des consommateurs face aux variations des prix (BARTCzAK et al, 2007;FoSTER et BEATTiE, 1979;giBBS, 1978;HögLUND, 1999;NAUgES et THoMAS, 2000;NAUgES et REyNAUD, 2001;PoiNT, 1993).…”

“…Parmi ces variables, il y a celles qui exercent un effet positif sur la consommation. C'est le cas du revenu (ARBUÉS et al, 2004;NAUgES et REyNAUD, 2001;RENWiCK et ARCHiBALD, 1998), la taille du ménage (BARTCzAK et al, 2007;gARCiAvALiñAS, 2003;RENWiCK et ARCHiBALD, 1998), la température (RENWiCK et gREEN, 2000;RUiJS et al, 2008;SCHLEiCH et HiLLENBRAND, 2009), l'évaporation (BiLLiNgS et AgTHE, 1980BiLLiNgS, 1982), l'âge de l'habitation (CARTER et MiLoN, 2005;NAUgES et REyNAUD, 2001). D'autres variables exercent un effet négatif sur la consommation.…”

“…D'autres variables exercent un effet négatif sur la consommation. C'est le cas de la pluviométrie (FoSTER et BEATTiE, 1981;gARCiA-vALiñAS, 2003;SCHLEiCH et HiLLENBRAND, 2009), les compteurs (BARTCzAK et al, 2007;NAUgES et THoMAS, 2000), les restrictions (RENWiCK et ARCHiBALD, 1998;RENWiCK et gREEN, 2000;RUiJS et al, 2008), la sensibilisation (RENWiCK et ARCHiBALD, 1998;RENWiCK et gREEN, 2000).…”