Incorporating uncertainty in the economic evaluation of capital investments for water use efficiency improvements

Abstract

Long-run investments in water-use efficiency (WUE) are risky, particularly where water is required as a secure input. State-of-nature representations of supply outcomes provide an increased understanding of the vulnerability of capital and water users to adverse events. Using Californian data, we couple cost-benefit analysis to a state-contingent analysis approach to explore the riskiness of WUE investment payoffs and cash-flow outcomes when frequencies of states of nature change over the investment course. Critically, this allows us to represent decision-maker adaptation in the face of risk and uncertainty and the role of subsidy policy in those decisions.