Predictable access to sufficient water is one of the cornerstones of social well-being, but unlimited resources are available to a lower and lower extent in much of the world. Hungary's position is good for the time being, but there are signs of deteriorationas well as evident future risks. It is essential that scarce water resources are used as efficiently as possible, while reflecting the preferences set by society. The Hungarian legal and institutional system is currently ill-suited to this. Price-based economic instruments can help decisionmakers in their effort to efficiently allocate limited volumes of water. The authors detail the dilemmas and conflicts of interest associated with the allocation of scarce resources and also describe the interrelations along which economic instruments help to allocate scarce volumes toward uses with the highest possible potential for value creation. Their findings are supported by foreign examples.

Available at the website of Hungarian Journal of Hydrology