Introduction to Water Markets: An overview and systematic literature review

This chapter provides an introduction and overview to the book Water Markets: A Global Assessment, and introduces readers to the concept of water markets and water trade. It summarises the chapters on water markets written by water policy expert scholars in 20 countries (and across 28 country areas/basins) around the world. The chapter also provides a systematic review of the water market literature to date. There has been an increasing publication trend on water market studies over time, with a predominance in the literature on rural water markets in Australia and the United States, and other countries that face water scarcity issues. Water market studies come from a variety of disciplines, and popular research questions include understanding important preconditions for water markets; water market price and volume drivers; and investigating net overall benefits from water markets.