"Demand for Water in Queretaro, Mexico: a study of the preferences for water supply improvements.".

University of Alberta. Outstanding Master's Thesis Award.

This thesis investigates the demand for water supply improvements in Queretaro, Mexico. Queretaro currently lacks adequate water supply services, and it is of interest to know if residents would be willing to finance improvements to the water supply system.

The data for this work were collected with two in-person surveys of Queretaro's households. The first survey was administered to a stratified random sample of 629 homes with piped water services. The second survey was conducted with a semi-random sample of 207 households in informal settlements that do not have private water services. This thesis is one of the first studies in Mexico that demonstrates that residents are willing to pay a significant amount of money for water supply improvements. This study also provides some of the first evidence from Latin America that residents from informal settlements are willing to pay a considerable proportion of their income for water service improvements.