scholarly journals Improved Water Services Cooperation through Clarification of Rules and Roles

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2172
Author(s):  
Laura M. Inha ◽  
Tapio S. Katko ◽  
Riikka P. Rajala
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Nobel Laureate ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Institutional Diversity ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Water Utility

Water services face global challenges, many of which are institutional by nature. While technical solutions may suit several situations, institutional frameworks are likely to vary more. On the basis of constructive research approach and new institutional economics we analyze and illustrate water services and the roles of various water sector actors in Finnish water utility setting using the “soccer analogy” by the Nobel Laureate D.C. North: Institutions are the “formal and informal rules of the game” while organizations are the “players”. Additionally, we assess the Finnish water governance system and discuss issues of scale and fragmentation and distinguish terms water provision and production. Finally, we elaborate the limitations of the soccer analogy to water services through ownership of the systems. According to the soccer analogy, inclusive institutional development requires skillful players (competent staff), team play (collaboration), proper coaching (education), supporters (citizens, media), managers (policymakers), and referees (authorities). We argue that institutional diversity and player/stakeholder collaboration are the foundation for enhancing good multi-level water governance, and that water management, although fragmented, should be seen as a connector of different sectors. For successful outcomes, scientific results should be communicated to public in more common language.

Water Governance 2.0: A Review and Second Generation Research Agenda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Araral
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Incentive Structures

<p>Water scholars and practitioners generally agree that improving water governance is the key to addressing water insecurity in developing countries. We review the literature on water governance in the last decade and argue for a second-generation research agenda, which pays more attention to the study of incentive structures, is multi and inter-disciplinary in orientation and with clear policy implications. We then illustrate how theories drawn from public economics, new institutional economics, political economy and public administration can help diagnose the challenges of integrated water resources management, improving efficiency of water utilities, privatization of utilities and public-private partnerships, water pricing reforms, virtual waters / water trading, among others. We conclude that these tools can help advance the second-generation research agenda on water governance.</p>

Constitutional Traditions, Institutions, Behavioral Prerequisites and Well-being of Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-49
Author(s):  
Hayk Sargsyan ◽  
Ruben Gevorgyan
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Econometric Analysis ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Constitutional Culture ◽  
Main Factors

Well-being of countries depend on several factors. According to new institutional economics one of the main factors of national well-being is the level of institutional development. Drawing on econometric analysis, we prove this hypothesis and show that such indicators as constitutional culture, behavioral prerequisites and perception of institutions are indispensable for the well-being of a country. The paper presents various approaches to "measuring" these indicators and issues related to this.

scholarly journals Local participation in decentralized water governance: insights from north-central Namibia

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salma Hegga ◽  
Irene Kunamwene ◽  
Gina Ziervogel
Keyword(s):  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
African Countries ◽  
North Central ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Equity And Efficiency ◽  
Local Actors

Abstract Although several semi-arid African countries are decentralizing water services and attempting to increase the participation of local actors in water resource management, how effectively this is working, and whether it is improving water access, is not yet well researched. Little attention has been paid to the capacities (in terms of knowledge and resources) that local actors need to successfully influence the operation and management of water services they are made responsible for. In a qualitative study, we asked regional and local actors in the Omusati Region of north-central Namibia for their perspectives on how water reforms, initiated in the late 1990s, have impacted on their participation in water governance. Our analysis reveals that decentralized governance of water resources can be ineffective if governments do not allocate sufficient resources to support and enable local actors to participate efficiently and effectively in the governance system. In the context of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, achieving greater equity and efficiency in the water sector while reducing climate risk will require that local actors receive more support in return for fuller and more effective participation. We suggest that policy and practice around decentralized water governance pay more attention to building the capacities of local actors to absorb the responsibilities transferred to them.

The late medieval and early modern Hanse as an institution of conflict management

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUSTYNA WUBS-MROZEWICZ
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
The Core ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACTEver since research on the Hanse began in the nineteenth century, there have been repeated efforts to redefine the boundaries and the core of the phenomenon. Views of the Hanse have evolved, and it has been seen by turns as a profoundly German league of towns, and as a network or organisation of towns and traders that was present in commercial centres and harbours from Novgorod to Portugal, and from Norway to Italy. In more general discussions on the institutional development of commerce in Europe, many of them influenced by the New Institutional Economics, the Hanse has even appeared as a mega-guild. The revival of the field of institutional economics and the history of commerce in pre-modern Europe has recently spawned a reappraisal of Hanseatic sources. The present article contributes to this debate by arguing that from the perspective of conflict management, the late medieval and early modern Hanse was an institution. There were several institutional mechanisms, such as a strong preference for mediation and arbitration in conflicts between individuals, as well as a mediation strategy for internal conflicts between towns. All of these mechanisms combined in a multifaceted institution of conflict management, which represented the added value of Hanse membership for traders, and for their towns.

scholarly journals Enhancing Performance of Participatory Water Institutions in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains: What Can We Learn from New Institutional Economics and Governance Theories?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasant P. Gandhi ◽  
Nicky Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Ordered Probit ◽  
Gangetic Plains ◽  
Water Institutions ◽  
Institutional Features

The paper examines the performance of participatory water institutions in India’s Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains region using new institutional economics and management governance fundamentals. Water institutions are of great importance for water resource management in India’s Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains since the region has relatively abundant water but lags behind significantly in economic development and growth with a high incidence of poverty. Engineering solutions to water management have been implemented but have not given good results principally because of weak institutional development and design in the region. Effective and efficient participatory water institutions are urgently needed. The research uses concepts from new institutional economics and management governance theory to build a conceptual framework for explaining the performance of participatory water institutions. The framework identifies eight institutional rationalities: technical, environmental, economic, social, political organizational, financial and government; as well as five institutional features: clear objectives, good interaction, adaptiveness, right scale, and compliance, as linked to performance. Based on this, a survey instrument was developed and a survey conducted obtaining responses from more than 500 households across 51 such institutions in the eastern Indo-Gangetic plains states of Assam and Bihar. The data were analyzed through statistical and econometric techniques including Ordered-Probit. The results support the relevance of the concepts in explaining performance of water institutions, and a number of drivers of performance were identified through Ordered-Probit, particularly, four rationalities—technical, economic, social and organizational, (with coefficients (0.4622, 0.3803, 0.4303, 0.2457) and three institutional features—good interaction, adaptiveness and appropriate scale (with coefficients 0.4242, 0.2703, 0.6756) (based on a 5-point Likert scale), as playing a positive and significant role in enhancing performance. The results provide a number of useful insights which can help guide interventions and policy towards better design and development of the water institutions, and help improve water resource management and livelihoods in the region.

scholarly journals Institutional Diversity of Transferring Land Development Rights in China—Cases from Zhejiang, Hubei, and Sichuan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13402
Author(s):  
Chen Shi ◽  
Zhou Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Land Development ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Diversity ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Land System ◽  
Development Rights ◽  
Material Conditions

With the continuous urbanization, China is facing a dilemma of achieving two conflicting targets in land governance, i.e., the continuous supply of urban construction land to support urbanization and the preservation of cultivated land for food security. Under China’s dual land system, the implementation of the “Linkage between Urban-land Taking and Rural-land Giving” (Linkage) policy is of great significance in promoting more inclusive urbanization by commodifying the land development right and connecting urban and rural land markets. In the specific land property right system and changing land governance of China, this policy appears to provide an opportunity for stakeholders other than the state to compete for the value from the transfer of development rights (TDR) and triggers the emergence of diversified approaches in organizing land projects in rural China. Based on the theoretical perspective of New Institutional Economics and empirical evidence from Zhejiang Province, Hubei Province, and Sichuan Province, this paper conducts a comparative institutional analysis for China’s TDR practice and argues that the diversified operational approaches in China’s practice have aligned various interests of the stakeholders through flexible participation methods and elaborate reallocation of land property rights, in order to fit various institutional environments and material conditions

Vertical Restrictions: Development of Theory, Antitrust Legislation and Enforcement

2010 ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Avdasheva ◽  
N. Dzagurova
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Vertical Restraints ◽  
New Institutional Theory ◽  
Antitrust Laws ◽  
Antitrust Legislation ◽  
Market Organization

The article examines the interpretation of vertical restraints in Chicago, post-Chicago and New Institutional Economics approaches, as well as the reflection of these approaches in the application of antitrust laws. The main difference between neoclassical and new institutional analysis of vertical restraints is that the former compares the results of their use with market organization outcomes, and assesses mainly horizontal effects, while the latter focuses on the analysis of vertical effects, comparing the results of vertical restraints application with hierarchical organization. Accordingly, the evaluation of vertical restraints impact on competition differs radically. The approach of the New Institutional Theory of the firm seems fruitful for Russian markets.

El Prestige: comparativa de los regímenes internacionales de responsabilidad civil

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Raquel Fernández González ◽  
Marcos Íñigo Pérez Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Rigorous Analysis ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Civil Responsibility ◽  
The One ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Prestige

The return of institutions to the main research agenda has highlighted the importance of rules in economic analysis. The New Institutional Economics has allowed a better understanding of the case studies that concern different areas of knowledge, also the one concerning the management of natural resources. In this article, the institutional analysis focuses on the maritime domain, where two large civil liability regimes for pollution coexist (OPA 90-IMO), each in a different geographical area (United States - Europe). Therefore, a comparative analysis is made between the two large regimes of civil responsibility assignment applying them to the Prestige catastrophe. In this way, the allocation and distribution of responsibilities in the investigation and subsequent judicial process of the Prestige is compared with an alternative scenario in which the applicable compensation instruments are governed by the provisions of the Oil Polution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), in order to establish a rigorous analysis on the effects that the different norms can have in the same scenario. In the comparative established in the case of the Prestige, where the responsibilities were solved very slowly in a judicial process with high transaction costs, the application of rules governed by the OPA 90 would not count with such a high degree of imperfection. This is so, since by applying the preponderance of the evidence existing in OPA 90 there would be no mitigation for the presumed culprits. On the other hand, the agents involved in the sinking would not be limited only to the owner, but also that operators or shipowners would be responsible as well. In addition, the amount of compensation would increase when counting in the damage count the personal damages, the taxes without perceiving and the ecological damage caused in a broad sense, damages not computable in the IMO.

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