Assessing the Direct Economic Effects of Reallocating Irrigation Waterto Alternative Uses : Concepts and an Application

Scheierling, Susanne M.

关键词: ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS;    AGRICULTURAL USERS;    AGRICULTURAL USES;    AGRICULTURAL WATER;    ALLOCATION OF WATER;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5797
RP-ID  :  WPS5797

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Irrigation water reallocations areplaying an increasingly important role in both developed anddeveloping countries. With growing urban and environmentalwater demands, rising costs for the development of new watersupplies, and irrigated agriculture usually including theleast economically valuable use of water, transfers ofirrigation water to alternative uses are increasing.However, such reallocations are often controversial, and itis often questioned whether the benefits resulting fromthese transactions are large enough to outweigh theassociated costs. This paper reviews the experience withirrigation water transfers, including the involvement of theWorld Bank. It discusses the problems of assessing thedirect economic effects of reallocations, with a focus onthe foregone direct benefits in irrigated agriculture.Because foregone direct benefits cannot easily be directlyobserved, they need to be estimated. However, assessmentshave shown widely differing estimates -- even when the samemethodology was used. The paper reviews the methodologiesand model specifications used for estimating foregone directbenefits; illustrates the impact of different modelspecifications on the magnitude of estimates of foregonedirect benefits based on an application in an example case;and draws conclusions with regard to future efforts inassessing reallocation effects, including calculatingadequate compensation for farmers. Because estimating thedirect benefits of irrigation expansion is methodologicallyequivalent to estimating foregone direct benefits fromreduced irrigation water supplies, the findings haveimplications for a broader range of water allocation decisions.