TY - JOUR AB - Purpose This paper aims to explore the possible uses of economic instruments, other than water tariffs, to assist water management policy in Brazil. In particular, the paper focuses attention toward markets for use rights.Design/methodology/approach The research is based on water resources specialists’ opinions and perceptions, collected through surveys (Delphi method) and a focus group, to understand if such an instrument is desirable and which roles could it play within Brazilian water basins.Findings Results suggest there is room and utility for markets for water use rights, although mostly on a temporary basis, localized, predominantly dealing with scarcity events and in conjunction with the other instruments under Brazil’s National Water Policy.Originality/value Given the persistence of scarcity events in the country, the research represents a first step to understand if new instruments for water management are politically feasible and contribute to better delineate future investigations applied to specific water basins and their local conditions. VL - 55 IS - 1 SN - 2531-0488 DO - 10.1108/RAUSP-09-2018-0091 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-09-2018-0091 AU - Breviglieri Gustavo Velloso AU - Osório Guarany Ipê do Sol AU - Lefèvre Guilherme Borba PY - 2019 Y1 - 2019/01/01 TI - New instruments for water management in Brazil T2 - RAUSP Management Journal PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 55 EP - 69 Y2 - 2024/04/16 ER -