Can Water Quality Trading Fix the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Problem?

Kurt Stephenson () and Leonard Shabman
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Kurt Stephenson: Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 95-116

Abstract: Policy analysts and government agencies promote a particular form of what they term water quality trading as a means to address the most vexing obstacle to meeting water quality standards: reducing nutrient pollutants from agricultural nonpoint sources. However, agricultural nonpoint sources’ participation in water quality trading programs will only make limited contributions to lowering overall pollutant loads. We argue that economists need to more clearly articulate the limitations of current and proposed water quality trading programs as a water quality management strategy. A new generation of market-like incentive policies will be necessary to make significant progress in reducing agricultural nonpoint source loads.

Keywords: water quality trading; nonpoint; agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q53 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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