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‘We Have Drunken Our Water for Money’: The Political Economy of Bottled Water, 1940-1995

Duncan, Samuel Prescott
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1275601437

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, History.
The evolution of the bottled water industry from the 1940s to the mid-1990s often reflected larger cultural, political, and economic changes, such as a bourgeoning environmental movement and the rising influence of neoliberalism in America’s political and economic structures. This thesis seeks to explore the history of bottled water within the context of these larger changes by examining the federal government’s role in the rise and success of the industry. In some instances, the choices of regulators and legislators affected consumer behavior by reinforcing the perception of bottled water as a pure alternative to the tap. In other instances, their actions produced market structures that favored the increased commodification of water by externalizing the production and environmental costs onto the consumer. The political economy of bottled water, therefore, helps explain the industry’s success in a country where nearly everyone has cheap access to safe, clean water.
Theodore Steinberg (Committee Chair)
Jonathan Sadowsky (Committee Member)
Peter Shulman (Committee Member)
55 p.
History
Bottled Water; Neoliberalism; Commodification

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Duncan, S. P. (2010). ‘We Have Drunken Our Water for Money’: The Political Economy of Bottled Water, 1940-1995 [Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1275601437

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Duncan, Samuel. ‘We Have Drunken Our Water for Money’: The Political Economy of Bottled Water, 1940-1995. 2010. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1275601437.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Duncan, Samuel. "‘We Have Drunken Our Water for Money’: The Political Economy of Bottled Water, 1940-1995." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1275601437

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1275601437
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.