Parched fields, fountain queues, leaky pipes, poisoned rivers: many crucial issues for our quality of life, natural ecosystems and entire regions prospects for economic development involve water, i.e., a public good that some want to privatize, but also a right that must be safeguarded for all; a free gift from the heavens, but also an industrial service that requires manpower, infrastructure, technology, and capital. How much water is there, and where exactly does it come from? Who manages water supplies, and what rules govern their actions? This book addresses the key issues from drought to wars over water that concern a fundamental resource for our economic well-being.

Antonio Massarutto teaches Economic Policy and Public Economics at the University of Udine and is research director at the Bocconi Universitys Institute of Energy and Environment Economics and Politics (IEFE).