The pricing of water in Malta

Abstract

One of the basic principles of economics states that anything scarce and in demand commands a price. Water, an essential good, is scarce in some contexts (drought, degraded quality), so water pricing is increasingly seen as an acceptable instrument of public policy, until it is reasonable. Water has been considered as social good in Malta, therefore the government throughout the years has heavily subsidized water - as permitted by the European Law, thus the pricing of water should reflect the true costs. The thesis presented focuses on the history of the pricing of water in Malta, decisions taken by governments on the issue in different circumstances, and reveal how the Water Services Corporation, the consumer in general and the Government play an important role in different ways to the issue of pricing of water.