Abstract:
Key among government strategies to promote efficient and participatory
water management in Kenya is through empowering local communities to manage
water resources through Water Resource Users’ Associations (WRUAs) which is a
collective action initiative. However, there is contrasting empirical evidence on the
welfare benefits households derive from this water governance mechanism. The
study applied the endogenous switching regression to estimate the causal impact
on household consumption per adult equivalent and household incomes per adult
equivalent. The results indicate that WRUA membership has a positive and significant effect on household consumption per adult equivalent and household income
per adult equivalent. The results show that non-members would have significant
welfare improvements in their household consumption and incomes if they undertook WRUA membership.
