Economic Modeling of Welfare Gains From Resource Recovery From Fecal Waste [with Jhih-Shyang Shih (Resources for the Future)]: Waterborne diseases from poor sanitation affect millions worldwide.
In recent years, however, hope for cost-effective approaches to enable better health outcomes has emerged in the form of a suite of innovative technologies that treat wastewater while recovering resources valuable for agricultural, industrial, or energy supply purposes. Resource recovery may generate revenue that can narrow the gap between the private and social benefits of wastewater treatment, thus making it more likely for local governments and private entities to invest in these technologies. In this project, we develop an economic model of optimal deployment of these technologies in order to inform and potentially facilitate uptake of the technologies in developing country contexts.
