Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: Institutional Adaptation to a Heterogeneous Common Pool Resource: Management of the Critical High Plains Aquifer in Kansas

摘要：自20世纪50年代广泛采用地下水灌溉以来，堪萨斯州西部地下水位下降了数十至数百英尺，这导致了对含水层竞争性透支和整个地区经济未来的担忧。像世界上许多地区一样，堪萨斯州西部的农业经济严重依赖地下水。经济理论表明，地下水资源的共同性质可能导致缺乏抽水限制的地下水保护激励不足。要了解堪萨斯州西部和世界各地地下水枯竭的本质和可能的解决方案，需要对制度和水文因素进行深入研究。地下水管理区在美国各地普遍存在，以帮助解决透支问题。了解堪萨斯州地区面临的问题以及为什么枯竭仍然可能发生，有助于改善整个美国以及可能在制度控制处于早期发展阶段的发展中国家的地下水管理政策。拟议的工作将向资源管理者和政策制定者展示如何将水文系统的物理特性转化为支持或反对管理的激励。这项工作旨在阐明地方管理的有效性以及影响其成功的因素。更广泛的影响：该项目解决了全球地下水管理的三个关键问题：(1)补给、比产量、水力传导率和饱和厚度等水文变量如何影响农场规模、农场价值和作物选择的经济成果？(2)通过更完善的产权界定，物理因素如何影响控制泵送外部性的激励？(3)不同的管理制度如何控制泵送外部性并改变经济结果？我们收集和分析新的数据来回答这些问题：地块销售和特征数据，将截面（平方英里）水平的经济数据与现有的水文数据相匹配；以及关于堪萨斯州地下水区出现和管理的机构数据。该项目通过在经验框架中包括空间水文变量，为地下水管理经济学提供了一种独特的方法。虽然存在土壤侵蚀控制区和灌溉区的经济讨论，但地下水管理区尚未得到充分审查。它们对保护含水层至关重要，也是本项目的重点。共同管理制度在美国和世界各地以各种形式存在。最近的工作已经证明了含水层异质性和空间外部性对管理成功的重要性，本提案通过测试这些因素对经济结果的影响，建立在这些见解的基础上。虽然hedonic方法已应用于地表水权，但很少有人将这种分析扩展到地下水或确定地下水物理特征对农场价值的影响，如本文所建议的那样。与采用地下水管理制度有关的农场价值的变化应影响个人参与这种管理的动机。这项研究考察了这种关系。该提案超越了广泛而抽象的社会规划师范式，着眼于个人用户在地下水抽水控制方面合作的动机，以及这些动机对管理结果的影响。该项目采用跨学科的方法，展示了水文现象的经济意义。它还为经济学家提供了一个框架，以利用水文数据来经验地解决管理成功中的物理系统异质性。

Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: Institutional Adaptation to a Heterogeneous Common Pool Resource: Management of theCritical High Plains Aquifer in KansasABSTRACTINTELLECTUAL MERIT: Tens to hundreds of feet declines in water table elevation in western Kansas since the widespread adoption of groundwater irrigation in the 1950s has led to concern about competitive overdraft of the aquifer and the economic future of the entire region. Like many regions worldwide, the agricultural economy of western Kansas is critically dependent upon groundwater. Economic theory suggests that the common nature of the groundwater resource can lead to insufficient incentives for groundwater conservation absent pumping restrictions. In-depth study of institutional and hydrologic factors is required to understand the nature and possible solutions to groundwater depletion in western Kansas and around the world. Groundwater management districts are prevalent throughout the United States to help address overdraft. Understanding what problems districts in Kansas are faced with and why depletion may still occur informs improved groundwater management policy throughout the US and potentially in the developing world where institutional control is in the early stages of development. The proposed work will demonstrate to resource managers and policymakers how physical properties of a hydrologic system are translated into incentives to support or oppose management. This work aims to shed light on how effective local management is and the factors that influence its success. BROADER IMPLICATIONS: This project addresses three critical questions for groundwater management worldwide: (1) How do the hydrologic variables of recharge, specific yield, hydraulic conductivity, and saturated thickness affect economic outcomes of farm size, farm value, and crop choice? (2) How do physical factors impact incentives to control pumping externalities through more complete property rights definition? (3) How do different management regimes control pumping externalities and change economic outcomes? We collect and analyze new data to answer these questions: parcel sale and characteristic data to match economic data at the section (square-mile) level with hydrological data already available; and institutional data on the emergence and management of groundwater districts in Kansas.This project offers a unique approach to the economics of groundwater management by including spatial hydrologic variables in an empirical framework. While economic discussions of soil erosion control districts and irrigation districts exist, groundwater management districts have not been adequately examined. They are critical for aquifer protection and are the focus of this project. Common management regimes exist in a variety of forms throughout the US and world. Recent work has demonstrated the importance of aquifer heterogeneity and spatial externalities in management success, and this proposal builds on these insights by testing the impact of these factors on economic outcomes. While hedonic methods have been applied to surface water rights, little has been done to extend this analysis to groundwater or to determine the effect of physical groundwater characteristics on farm value as is proposed here. Changes in farm values related to the adoption of groundwater management regimes should affect individual incentives for engaging in such management. This research examines that relationship. The proposal moves beyond the broad and abstract social planner paradigm to look at incentives of individual users to cooperate in groundwater pumping controls and the effect these incentives have on management outcomes. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, this project demonstrates the economic significance of hydrologic phenomena. It also provides a framework for economists to take advantage of hydrologic data to empirically address physical system heterogeneity in management success.