{"title":"'Well-fare' Economics of Groundwater in South Asia","authors":"Hanan G. Jacoby","doi":"10.1093/WBRO/LKW008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Groundwater exploitation has been instrumental in raising agricultural productivity andreducing rural poverty in South Asia, a region that accounts for nearly half of the globalgroundwater used for irrigation. Over the past three decades there has been an explosion ofprivate investment in borewells and mechanized pumps, which has allowed access togroundwater to be widely shared. But this profusion of drilling and pumping has also led toserious groundwater depletion. This essay explores South Asia’s groundwater dilemmathrough the lens of welfare economics, drawing on evidence from India and Pakistangleaned from a variety of sources ranging from agricultural censuses to specialized surveys.Policies to arrest groundwater depletion are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":47647,"journal":{"name":"World Bank Research Observer","volume":"102 1","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":8.7000,"publicationDate":"2017-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"17","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"World Bank Research Observer","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WBRO/LKW008","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEVELOPMENT STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 17
Abstract
Groundwater exploitation has been instrumental in raising agricultural productivity andreducing rural poverty in South Asia, a region that accounts for nearly half of the globalgroundwater used for irrigation. Over the past three decades there has been an explosion ofprivate investment in borewells and mechanized pumps, which has allowed access togroundwater to be widely shared. But this profusion of drilling and pumping has also led toserious groundwater depletion. This essay explores South Asia’s groundwater dilemmathrough the lens of welfare economics, drawing on evidence from India and Pakistangleaned from a variety of sources ranging from agricultural censuses to specialized surveys.Policies to arrest groundwater depletion are also discussed.
期刊介绍:
The World Bank Journals, including the Research Observer, boast the largest circulation among economics titles. The Research Observer is distributed freely to over 9,100 subscribers in non-OECD countries. Geared towards informing nonspecialist readers about research within and outside the Bank, it covers areas of economics relevant for development policy. Intended for policymakers, project officers, journalists, and educators, its surveys and overviews require only minimal background in economic analysis. Articles are not sent to referees but are assessed and approved by the Editorial Board, including distinguished economists from outside the Bank. The Observer has around 1,500 subscribers in OECD countries and nearly 10,000 subscribers in developing countries.