摘要:Spanish authorities have recently approved a new legislative framework for thecreation of local water markets to improve allocative e.ciency for this scarceresource. This paper analyses the potential impacts of the policy. A utility functionfor three groups of farmers was elicited, using a method that does not requireinteraction with the decision-makers. Utility was measured as a function of the .rsttwo moments of the distribution of total gross margin. The utility functions werethen used to simulate farmers' responses to changes in the price of water.