The innovations that the government encourages, such as drip irrigation or desalination, not only reduce the domestic cost of such shortages to, say, 70, but also underpin an industry that, by selling its wares in the most demanding markets, accrues a global value of more than 1,000. In this sense, Israel’s water scarcity has made the country wealthier than it otherwise would have been.
以色列政府通过其对该国有限水资源的管理起到了这一作用。假设以色列由于水短缺造成的一单位生产成本为100。政府所刺激的创新，如滴管和海水淡化，不但让水短缺所造成的成本降低到（比如）70，还通过向需求最大的市场出售设备奠定了一个产业，创造出超过1,000的全球价值。从这个角度讲，以色列的水短缺反倒让这个国家变得更加富有了。