Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
College of Humanities and Social Sciences • Schar School of Policy and Government
College of Humanities and Social Sciences • Schar School of Policy and Government
Buchanan Hall, #D135
November 14, 2019, 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM
This is a dissertation about water in California. This is a dissertation with three chapters. The first chapter is about the knowledge problem in water governance. Without market prices goods cannot be rationally allocated amongst competing ends. The second chapter is about the growth of water infrastructure and the polycentric nature of water governance. The last chapter is about water and institutional change. Normally institutions are thought of as being slow to change, this chapter provides examples of where the institutions governing water responded rapidly to changes in scientific knowledge and new technologies. Institutions change when the benefits of changing exceed the costs of change.