Merit Goods Approach in Water Pricing: Perception of Turkish Community

Abstract

Although water is a natural source, it is not endless. Furthermore, it is available to be polluted, and its usable properties are quickly lost. The amount of fresh water in the world have become a scarce resource with population growth, pollution of resources and mishandling. All these problems have brought important discussions on water management in the world countries. There are two ecols of water classification. The first ecol accepts water as special goods. Since the water is a scarce resource, it means that the pricing mechanism must be used with absolute ease. Second ecol defends that all people have right of access to water. Water is a merit goods that must be reached to the minimum quantity for enable people to spend their lives. The aim of the study is to show perceptions of Turkish Community about this problem. In-depth interviewing technique has applied in the study. With convenience sampling method, it has been reached to 150 participants who live in Ankara, İzmir, Manisa, Uşak, Afyon. All of the participants have been indicated that access to the water is a human right. In the study, it has been concluded that water pricing is not ethical in the market conditions like special goods. Instead, it has been demonstrated that a pricing mechanism should be implemented to prevent wastage in water use.