scholarly journals Editorial—Using Applied Economics to Study Participatory Irrigation Institutions and their Impact in South Asia

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2056
Author(s):  
Lin Crase

For many decades, participatory approaches, with their emphasis on farmer-centred management, have been presented as panaceas for overcoming weaknesses in irrigation systems. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) has assumed such a high status that it is regularly mandated by donors sponsoring irrigation upgrades in poor countries. However, the success of PIM is mixed, and economic analysis can help explain why PIM might work in some settings and not in others. This Special Issue focusses on PIM and aims to scrutinise its usefulness, particularly in South Asia. The focus on South Asian irrigation is driven by the reality that smallholder agriculture is destined to be the mainstay for this most populous region, at least in the medium term, and finding solutions to raise agricultural productivity is a high priority. The Special Issue comprises nine papers employing several strands of economics, including New Institutional Economics, Game Theory, and Behavioural Economics. A synopsis of each paper is provided in this editorial.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEOFFREY M. HODGSON ◽  
J. W. STOELHORST

Abstract:This special issue of the Journal of Institutional Economics on the future of institutional and evolutionary economics consists of this introduction, four full essays, and two sizeable comments. Ménard and Shirley (2014) and Ménard (2014) discuss the future of the new institutional economics, and their two essays are followed by a reflection by Hodgson. Winter (2014) and Witt (2014) discuss the future of evolutionary economics, and their essays are followed by a comment by Stoelhorst. Here, we introduce these essays and comments by putting them in a broader historical perspective. In particular, we trace the common origins of modern institutional and evolutionary economics, particularly in the work of Veblen, as well as important additional influences such as Schumpeter and Simon. We highlight how the two approaches became disconnected, and signal the possibility of, and need for, re-establishing closer connections between them. Possible elements of a future overlapping research programme are outlined.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
PARTHA DASGUPTA ◽  
PRIYA SHYAMSUNDAR ◽  
KARL-GÖRAN MÄLER

This special issue focuses on environmental problems related to poverty and economic growth in South Asia and seeks to illustrate the types of economic analyses that can be undertaken to address these problems. The idea for this issue emerged at the inauguration of the South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE). The papers presented at SANDEE's inaugural conference demonstrated the need for a tighter connection between environmental and development economics. The study of environmental change in poor countries benefits a great deal from well-established theoretical and empirical investigations of externalities and valuation of non-market goods, the staple of environmental economics as taught in the West. However, it is also closely tied to questions about institutions and why they succeed or fail. The spatial nature of dependence of the poor on local resources also matters. Further, the study of environmental change and of institutions cannot be divorced from policies and economic reforms in poor countries. These are some of the topics discussed in this collection.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crase ◽  
Cooper ◽  
Burton

In this paper, we consider the process of transition from an equitable distribution of water to support semi-subsistence outcomes to market-oriented agriculture. We examine the stresses placed on water institutions as farmers adjust production to become more market-oriented and consider the relationship between farmers and irrigation officials under different scenarios. The paper is used to highlight some of the challenges pertaining to property rights but also considers the dangers of simply transposing solutions from full-market agriculture in developed economies to developing nations and countries in transition. In this context the role of Participatory Irrigation Management is scrutinized. We argue that this approach can potentially accommodate greater flexibility and market orientation in agriculture but ultimately the beneficiary-benefactor relationship between irrigation officials and farmers in parts of South Asia needs to be seriously challenged.


2010 ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Avdasheva ◽  
N. Dzagurova

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Raquel Fernández González ◽  
Marcos Íñigo Pérez Pérez

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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