Governing desalination in Spain and Israel (1990–2020): lessons on institutional coherence and infrastructure performance

Mozo Moreno, Sebastian (2025) Governing desalination in Spain and Israel (1990–2020): lessons on institutional coherence and infrastructure performance. International Journal of Water Resources Development. ISSN 0790-0627 (In Press)

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Abstract

This article compare Spain and Israel (1990–2020) to explain why similar legal reforms and investments in seawater desalination yielded divergent outcomes. Israel consolidated a centrally coordinated model with near cost-recovery and broad uptake, whereas Spain’s installed capacity has experienced lower and more uneven utilisation alongside recurrent debate. Using a most-similar systems design, the analysis explores four policy dimensions: tariff design, social acceptance, governance arrangements, and legal coordination. Findings show that durable performance depends less on structural pressures than on coherent tariffs, availability-based contracts, integrated network operations, and sustained outreach, with post-2020 developments discussed qualitatively to assess external validity

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	LSE
Date Deposited:	04 Nov 2025 14:45
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2025 10:57
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130049

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