TITLE:
Macropolitics and Microperceptions: Is There a Possible Market Answer to Water Woes in Ambovombe-Androy, Madagascar?
AUTHORS:
Richard R. Marcus
KEYWORDS:
Madagascar; Water Policy; Water Management; Ambovombe
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
31,
2012
ABSTRACT: In Ambovombe-Androy water is scarce, time-consuming to obtain, and expense. Nonetheless, there is little study into the complexity of popular perception of costs for services in Madagascar. This paper addresses this gap. It is based on a district-wide household survey, focus groups, and interviews. It looks at the wide variation in pricing expectations across a number of intra-community demographic groups and economic classes before considering the user perceptions of water markets themselves as determinants of their willingness to pay. It concludes by isolating the determinants under which and places in which the new macro-level strategies are likely to be accepted, and work, at the community level in Ambovombe-Androy.