A Dynamic Approach to Calculate Shadow Prices of Water Resources for Nine Major Rivers in China

China is experiencing from serious water issues. There are many differences among the Nine Major Rivers basins of China in the construction of dikes, reservoirs, floodgates, flood discharge projects, flood diversion projects, water ecological construction, water conservancy management, etc. The shadow prices of water resources for Nine Major Rivers can provide suggestions to the Chinese government. This article develops a dynamic shadow prices approach based on a multiperiod input–output optimizing model. Unlike previous approaches, the new model is based on the dynamic computable general equilibrium (DCGE) model to solve the problem of marginal long-term prices of water resources. First, definitions and algorithms of DCGE are elaborated. Second, the results of shadow prices of water resources for Nine Major Rivers in 1949–2050 in China using the National Water Conservancy input–holding–output table for Nine Major Rivers in 1999 are listed. A conclusion of this article is that the shadow prices of water resources for Nine Major Rivers are largely based on the extent of scarcity. Selling prices of water resources should be revised via the usage of parameters representing shadow prices.