Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin

Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin

Does decentralizing the allocation of public resources reduce rent-seeking and improve equity? This paper studies a governance reform in Pakistan's vast Indus Basin irrigation system. Using canal discharge measurements across all of Punjab pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jacoby, Hanan G., Mansuri, Ghazala, Fatima, Freeha
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2018
Subjects:
DECENTRALIZATION
WATER SUPPLY
WATER POLICY
IRRIGATION
INEQUALITY
POVERTY REDUCTION
PUBLIC RESOURCE ALLOCATION
WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION
WATER THEFT
WATER SCARCITY
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/219061519221201138/Decentralization-and-redistribution-irrigation-reform-in-Pakistans-Indus-basin
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29412
id okr-10986-29412
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-294122021-06-08T14:42:48Z Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin Jacoby, Hanan G. Mansuri, Ghazala Fatima, Freeha DECENTRALIZATION WATER SUPPLY WATER POLICY IRRIGATION INEQUALITY POVERTY REDUCTION PUBLIC RESOURCE ALLOCATION WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION WATER THEFT WATER SCARCITY Does decentralizing the allocation of public resources reduce rent-seeking and improve equity? This paper studies a governance reform in Pakistan's vast Indus Basin irrigation system. Using canal discharge measurements across all of Punjab province, the analysis finds that water theft increased on channels taken over by local farmer organizations compared with channels that remained bureaucratically managed, leading to substantial wealth redistribution. The increase in water theft was greater along channels with larger landowners situated upstream. These findings are consistent with a model in which decentralization accentuates the political power of local elites by shifting the arena in which water rights are contested. 2018-02-28T23:15:03Z 2018-02-28T23:15:03Z 2018-02 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/219061519221201138/Decentralization-and-redistribution-irrigation-reform-in-Pakistans-Indus-basin http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29412 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8352 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper South Asia Pakistan
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic DECENTRALIZATION
WATER SUPPLY
WATER POLICY
IRRIGATION
INEQUALITY
POVERTY REDUCTION
PUBLIC RESOURCE ALLOCATION
WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION
WATER THEFT
WATER SCARCITY
spellingShingle DECENTRALIZATION
WATER SUPPLY
WATER POLICY
IRRIGATION
INEQUALITY
POVERTY REDUCTION
PUBLIC RESOURCE ALLOCATION
WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION
WATER THEFT
WATER SCARCITY
Jacoby, Hanan G.
Mansuri, Ghazala
Fatima, Freeha
Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
geographic_facet South Asia
Pakistan
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8352
description Does decentralizing the allocation of public resources reduce rent-seeking and improve equity? This paper studies a governance reform in Pakistan's vast Indus Basin irrigation system. Using canal discharge measurements across all of Punjab province, the analysis finds that water theft increased on channels taken over by local farmer organizations compared with channels that remained bureaucratically managed, leading to substantial wealth redistribution. The increase in water theft was greater along channels with larger landowners situated upstream. These findings are consistent with a model in which decentralization accentuates the political power of local elites by shifting the arena in which water rights are contested.
format Working Paper
author Jacoby, Hanan G.
Mansuri, Ghazala
Fatima, Freeha
author_facet Jacoby, Hanan G.
Mansuri, Ghazala
Fatima, Freeha
author_sort Jacoby, Hanan G.
title Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
title_short Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
title_full Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
title_fullStr Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
title_full_unstemmed Decentralization and Redistribution : Irrigation Reform in Pakistan's Indus Basin
title_sort decentralization and redistribution : irrigation reform in pakistan's indus basin
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2018
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/219061519221201138/Decentralization-and-redistribution-irrigation-reform-in-Pakistans-Indus-basin
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29412
_version_ 1764469282875375616

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