In many parts of the world, the scarcity of the water is rapidly increasing. Nevertheless, decision-makers refuse to take into account the economic implications of this water scarcity as well as the allocation of water. The present study focuses on the water supply industry by taking a variety of economic perspectives: Chapter 1 discusses macro-prospective infrastructure investments (such as water supply) by discussing the economic effects of such investments on regional growth and development. Here, approaches of the regional and development economics, economic geography as well as the economics of financial economics are considered. Furthermore, Chapter 2 focuses on the water supply industry and the economically optimal organization of the water sector with reference to the German water sector. The most important economic concepts are exemplarily modeled with regard to an empirical verification, and a taxonomy is developed with regard to the determination of the optimal structure of the water sector. Chapter 3 deals with the microeconomic analysis of the production technology of rural water utilities. The theoretically consistent modeling of water production and water supply processes is carried out by applying the globally flexible functional form of a symmetric and generalized McFadden cost function, which corresponds to the required regularity and curvature properties. Furthermore, the results of a written survey of rural water users in East and West Germany as well as the resulting data set are presented. Scalene effects, the optimum operating size as well as price and substitution elasticities are estimated. Finally, in Chapter 4, the relative efficiency of these rural water utilities is analyzed empirically by recourse to the previously modeled theoretically consistent cost function. This is modified to allow the measurement of input-specific relative allocative, cost and technical efficiency. The majority of the economists consider the water supply as part of the core infrastructure of an economy. In general, theoretical approaches are based on a positive link between infrastructure investment on the one hand and output and productivity on the other, the latter leading to an increase in income and welfare. Therefore, the optimal organization of the water supply industry will be discussed using production and industrial-economic concepts. These concepts will be modeled as an example for an empirical application in the water sector. Commonly assumed efficiencies due to a vertically integrated organization (so-called "composite benefits") must be compared with the efficiency losses resulting from a partial or total disintegrated organization. Such a scientifically based efficiency assessment of the various forms of organization in the water sector is not yet known in the relevant literature. With regard to the restructuring of the water supply industry in rural regions of Germany, the illustrated pool model appears as a promising alternative to the presently prevailing integrated organization. By this, the monopoly could be reduced to its core, the supply network. The following microeconometric analysis of the production technology of rural water suppliers focuses on the theoretically consistent modeling of water production and supply. The results of the survey of rural water suppliers in East and West Germany, verified by existing financial reports and annual accounts, help to partially close the data gaps for the rural water sector in Germany. The empirical analysis shows that the majority of rural water suppliers produce short-term and long-term positive scalene effects. More than 90% of water suppliers in rural areas do not produce the optimum point of minimal average costs. Finally, the relative efficiency of these rural water utilities is analyzed empirically by recourse to the previously developed theoretically consistent cost function model. This is modified to allow estimation of input-specific relative efficiency in one step. The analysis shows that efficiency in the rural water sector varies greatly in terms of location. This as a result of clearly different spatial conditions with regard to water production, treatment, transport and distribution. The efficiency of utilities in West Germany is not significantly higher than that of East German suppliers. The legal ownership form sowi