Money or morals? How to get people to save water

A study finds that households do not need economic incentives to reduce water usage - normative incentives are enough

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Given that water is so cheap, yet so essential to life, how do governments get people to be less profligate with water?

In the light of the soaring temperatures and reduced rainfall, managing water demand is a societal challenge in Singapore. It also looms large across the world - from Manila to Cape Town, there are problems of rising demand and falling supply.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 29, 2019, with the headline Money or morals? How to get people to save water. Subscribe