Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes

The pressure on an already stressed water situation in South Africa is predicted to increase significantly under climate change, plans for large industrial expansion, ongoing rapid urbanization, and government programs to provide access to water to millions of previously excluded populations. This a...

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Main Authors: Hassan, Rashid, Thurlow, James
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154647
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author Hassan, Rashid
Thurlow, James
author_browse Hassan, Rashid
Thurlow, James
author_facet Hassan, Rashid
Thurlow, James
author_sort Hassan, Rashid
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The pressure on an already stressed water situation in South Africa is predicted to increase significantly under climate change, plans for large industrial expansion, ongoing rapid urbanization, and government programs to provide access to water to millions of previously excluded populations. This article employs a general equilibrium approach to examine the economy-wide impacts of selected macro and water-related policy reforms on water use and allocation, rural livelihoods, and economy at large. The analyses reveal that implicit crop-level water quotas reduce the amount of irrigated land allocated to higher-value horticultural crops and create higher shadow rents for production of lower-value water-intensive field crops, such as sugarcane and fodder. Accordingly, liberalizing local water allocation within irrigation agriculture is found to work in favor of higher-value crops, and expand agricultural production and exports and farm employment. Allowing for water trade between irrigation and nonagricultural uses fuelled by higher competition for water from urbanization leads to greater water shadow prices for irrigation water with reduced income and employment benefits to rural households and higher gains for nonagricultural households. The analyses show difficult trade-offs between general economic gains and higher water prices, which place serious questions on subsidizing water supply to irrigated agriculture, i.e., making irrigation subsidies much harder to justify.
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spelling CGSpace1546472024-11-15T08:52:28Z Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes Hassan, Rashid Thurlow, James water resources irrigation models mathematical models computable general equilibrium models The pressure on an already stressed water situation in South Africa is predicted to increase significantly under climate change, plans for large industrial expansion, ongoing rapid urbanization, and government programs to provide access to water to millions of previously excluded populations. This article employs a general equilibrium approach to examine the economy-wide impacts of selected macro and water-related policy reforms on water use and allocation, rural livelihoods, and economy at large. The analyses reveal that implicit crop-level water quotas reduce the amount of irrigated land allocated to higher-value horticultural crops and create higher shadow rents for production of lower-value water-intensive field crops, such as sugarcane and fodder. Accordingly, liberalizing local water allocation within irrigation agriculture is found to work in favor of higher-value crops, and expand agricultural production and exports and farm employment. Allowing for water trade between irrigation and nonagricultural uses fuelled by higher competition for water from urbanization leads to greater water shadow prices for irrigation water with reduced income and employment benefits to rural households and higher gains for nonagricultural households. The analyses show difficult trade-offs between general economic gains and higher water prices, which place serious questions on subsidizing water supply to irrigated agriculture, i.e., making irrigation subsidies much harder to justify. 2011-03 2024-10-01T14:02:52Z 2024-10-01T14:02:52Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154647 en Limited Access Wiley Hassan, Rashid; Thurlow, James. 2011. Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes. Agricultural Economics 42(2) : 235-247. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00511.x
spellingShingle water resources
irrigation
models
mathematical models
computable general equilibrium models
Hassan, Rashid
Thurlow, James
Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title_full Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title_fullStr Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title_full_unstemmed Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title_short Macro-micro feedback links of water management in South Africa: CGE analyses of selected policy regimes
title_sort macro micro feedback links of water management in south africa cge analyses of selected policy regimes
topic water resources
irrigation
models
mathematical models
computable general equilibrium models
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154647
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AT thurlowjames macromicrofeedbacklinksofwatermanagementinsouthafricacgeanalysesofselectedpolicyregimes