Uma análise da demanda residencial por água usando diferentes métodos de estimação

Abstract

The present complexity of urban water supply systems as well as its high maintenance and expansion costs require, from policy makers, more precise information about the conditions that affect the demand and the supply functions of this service. Thus, this study had the objective to investigate the importance of economic and non economic variables on the amount of water demanded in the Município de Piracicaba, SP, using aggregated data and four statistical methods of estimation. The results showed that marginal price (PMa) and a variable known as the difference (D) were the only variables that explained variations in water consumption. The estimated value for the price elasticity coefficient was equal to -0.21, therefore characterizing an inelastic water demand. Because it is a value estimated from aggregated data, it should be interpreted with caution.