Description
Book SynopsisIn the American West, pressures to reallocate water to meet urban demands are rising as cities grow, environmental awareness increases, and climate change threatens existing water supplies. The legacy of Owens Valley, however, raises concerns about reallocation. This work considers alternative approaches to the Owens Valley transfer.
Trade Review". . . Libecap constructs a convincing revisionist history of the Owens Valley land and water purchases by the City of Los Angeles in the early 20th century." -- Ellen Hanak * Public Policy Institute of California *
"In his latest book
Owen's Valley Revisited, Libecap takes on one of the most enduring myths in western water history—the famous transfer of water from Owen's Valley to Los Angeles that occurred in the early part of the twentieth century The result is impressive: using extensive archival data, Libecap manages to convincingly demonstrate that the popular 'rap and pillage' myth surrounding Owen's Valley is in actuality much more complicated than generally perceived." --
H-Net"
Owen's Valley Revisited fills an important need for anyone who wants a balanced picture of the water history of Los Angeles in the Owen's Valley and Mono Basins. It is concise and yet, thorough. For any fair commentary on the LADWP Owen's Valley history, no writer should begin without first reading Libecap's
Owen's Valley Revisited." --
Water & Power Associates, Inc. Newsletter"Scholars of the Los Angeles-Owens Valley controversy will be most interested in the revisionist approach of Gary D. Libecap's
Owens Valley Revisited . . . The book does provide a chronology and a solid bibliography as well as several maps, graphs, and tables that students of this story will find useful." -- Randal Beeman *
Southern California Quarterly *
"Gary Libecap has produced a new economic analysis of the century-long, acrimonious relations between the Los Angeles's Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and Owen's Valley, a region of California that supplies water to Los Angeles His book belongs on the shelf of any water resources economist, as well as on the shelves of historians seeking multiple perspectives of the American West." --
Haddad"Libecap provides a stimulating new view of the infamous Owens Valley Water Purchase. Using scientific tools and objectively weighing the evidence, the book gives the reader an accurate understanding of this controversial and fascinating history." -- Mary Shirley * The Ronald Coase Institute *
"This book is an important contribution to the recent literature on institutions, property rights, and transaction costs. Libecap's careful correction of the historical record is a welcome addition to the ongoing debate about water transfer policy." -- P. J. Hill * Wheaton College *
Table of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc4:Acknowledgments xxx @toc2:Chapter 1 Owens Valley and Western Water 1 Chapter 2 The Owens Valley Syndrome 00 Chapter 3 The History of the Owens Valley-to-Los Angeles Water and Land Exchange 00 Chapter 4 The Bargaining Costs of Land and Water Rights Exchanges in Owens Valley 00 Chapter 5 An Assessment of the Owens Valley Transfer: The Distribution of the Gains of Exchange and the Origin of the Notion of "Theft" 00 Chapter 6 Water Rights and Water Re-allocation: Los Angeles and the Owens Valley, 19352006 00 Chapter 7 Water Rights and Water Re-allocation: Los Angeles and the Mono Basin, 19352006 00 Chapter 8 The Costs of Judicial Re-allocation of Water Rights and the Public Trust Doctrine 00 Chapter 9 Concluding Thoughts: Owens Valley and Western Water @toc4:Notes 00 References 00 Index 00
