ANALYSE DES DÉTERMINANTS DE LA DEMANDE D'EAU POTABLE EN ALGÉRIE : UNE APPROCHE PAR PANELS DYNAMIQUES/Analysis of water demand in Algeria: Dynamic panel approach

An optimal allocation of water resources is one of the challenges awaiting Algeria for years to come. With a water availability of less than 500 0m3 per capita per year, Algeria is one of the countries that suffer most from the effects of water scarcity. Despite this deficit, water in Algeria is still subsidized by the state. In this paper, the authors propose a contribution to improving the management of this vital service through knowledge of factors determining this function. To achieve this, they estimated a function of water demand with a sample of 172 consumers over a period of 45 quarters, using dynamic panel estimates. These estimates show that the consumers in the province of Bejaia are not very sensitive to price changes. The income elasticity estimated with this method gives a value of 0.39. In other words, an increase in income of 1% generates an additional demand of 0.39%.