'Well-fare' Economics of Groundwater in South Asia

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.