CHAPTER 4: Review of CGE Models of Water Issues

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models offer a method of studying the role of water resources and water scarcity in the context of international trade. This chapter reviews the literature on water-related CGE modeling by providing a survey that focuses on the implications of different modeling techniques of water resource. We differentiate between models that explicitly model water as a factor of production and those that model water as an implicit factor of production. Within the category of studies that model water explicitly we further differentiate between models that assume a high degree of substitution between water and primary factors and those that assume a low degree of substitution. We also differentiate between regional and global models. Further, we provide information on the type of analysis the model was used for.