Water institutional reforms in Chile

Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Hearnea ◽  
Guillermo Donosob
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Group Behavior ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Management Institutions

This paper provides a review of the recent institutional changes observed in the water sector in Chile. This review is then used to reflect the Chilean experience in the light of the results concerning institutional change found in existing literature on both institutional economics in general and water institutional economics in particular. These results relate to factors explaining institutional change and the role of endogenous institutional features, such as path dependency and institutional linkages during the reform process. Against a brief description of the main features of the water sector in Chile, the paper provides an overview of Chilean water management institutions and the reforms process ongoing since the 1980s. The factors that motivated institutional changes in Chile's water management include ideology, transactions costs, interest-group behavior and path dependency. While the already observed institutional changes, such as the transferable water rights, water markets and urban water reforms, are all significant, further reforms are delayed by the deliberate legislative process required for changes as a result of the 1980 Constitution. Future water reforms in Chile, therefore, depend on a very difficult process of political reforms needed to change the 1980 Constitution and the 1981 Water Code.

scholarly journals The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the institutional change in developing countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-601
Author(s):  
Tomasz Legiędź
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Current Events ◽  
Institutional System ◽  
The Impact

Motivation: The Covid-19 pandemic is having a critical impact on economies, especially in developing countries. Such a serious external shock affects the distribution of economic rents, thus leading to potentially large institutional changes. Naturally, in the short term we are dealing with an economic crisis and a restriction of civil liberties in both autocratic and democratic countries, however, it is not known what the dynamics of institutional changes will be in the longer run. Aim: The main purpose of the article is to answer if the Covid-19 pandemic becomes a turning point that will determine the institutional system in developing countries for the next few decades. The first part of the article outlines the theory of institutional change, with particular emphasis on the role of external shocks. The next section presents studies on the socioeconomic impact of two major epidemics: The Black Death and the Great Influenza Pandemic. The third part conducts an assessment as to what extent the current pandemic may affect institutions in developing countries, by reference to the example of two countries: Tunisia and Cambodia. The analysis is conducted from the perspective of the new institutional economics. Results: If we look at the experiences from previous pandemics, current events and refer to the literature on the theory of institutional change, we can conclude that significant institutional changes caused by Covid-19 are unlikely. The process of institutional change is characterized by a specific complexity and changing dynamics. Nonetheless, it is the internal factors, reflecting the actions of people trying to maximize the benefits, which are the main cause of change in an institutional system. Therefore, the Covid-19 pandemic is more likely to strengthen the endogeneity of the process of institutional change, rather than change its course.

scholarly journals Property rights, institutional change and development in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Schirmer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
South African ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Universal System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Shed Light

Orientation: This article examined the link between property rights and development in the context of South Africa. Research purpose: The article sought to unpack the implications of Hernando De Soto’s work and the broader institutional economics literature for the policy challenges that South Africa currently confronts. Motivation for the Study: Hernando De Soto’s call for a property rights system accessible to all has had a limited impact in South Africa even though his arguments linking poverty to limited property rights systems seems highly relevant here. This is a legacy of Apartheid that has not yet been properly tackled. At the same time, South African realities may raise questions about De Soto’s conclusions and his policy recommendations. Research design: The article provided a textual analysis of De Soto’s work and then applied it to an investigation of South African poverty and the policies that have been implemented since 1994. The article also drew on seminal contributions to institutional economics to shed light on the process of institutional change, and then showed how this perspective fits with much of what De Soto has written about transforming property rights systems. Main findings: This article argued that extending property rights to all is vital for development and for overcoming a major legacy of apartheid. However, moving from a restricted to a universal system requires fundamental institutional changes that are difficult to achieve. Contribution: While De Soto has often advocated a top-down, overly simplistic policy approach in the past, this article showed that the necessary changes can only come about via an incremental, bottom-up approach. To this end, it is particularly important to strengthen the accountability and capacity of local government.

scholarly journals Hemmnisse institutionellen Wandels im Kleinprivatwald aus der Sicht der Neuen Institutionenökonomik | Constraints on institutional change in smallscale forestry: a New Institutional Economics perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 157 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Schlüter
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Wood Production ◽  
Private Forests ◽  
Production Chain

This contribution looks at the problems of bringing small, private forests into the wood production chain from an institutional theoretical perspective. This would conclude that institutional changes are inevitable. In practice, however, structures in small private forests are characterised by considerable inertia. Various approaches in New Institutional Economics are investigated to determine whether they can provide an explanation for this inertia. Explanatory power can only be developed by employing a combination of different approaches. The current extension of this theory into ideological and trading resources is equally necessary to understand the institutional change in forest management.

On the Applicability of “Provision-Appropriation” Theory to Irrigation Management: An Analysis Based on Institutional Change in the Dongping Irrigation Area

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Chen Jing ◽  
Kan Shizuan ◽  
Tong Zhihui
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Change ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Irrigation Area ◽  
Site Investigations ◽  
Current State ◽  
System Sustainability

AbstractThis paper, based on historical research on irrigation administration in the Dongping area and on-site investigations into its current state, explores the benefits and problems produced by two institutional changes. As a common pool resource situation, irrigation systems’ “provision” and “appropriation” are two separate issues; any institutional change must thus offer two different solutions. The study concludes that the participatory changes undertaken in the Dongping irrigation area failed, in the end, to resolve the problem of irrigation system sustainability. In particular, it proved difficult for collective action to take place around provision, which led to difficulties in operating the irrigation system.

The structure and changes of China’s land system

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Shouying
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Land System ◽  
Rapid Economic Growth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the structure and changes of China’s land system. To achieve this aim, the paper is divided into four parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to the structural characteristics of the Chinese land institutional arrangements; the second part analyzes the reform process of the land system in the past 40 years and its path of change; the third part engages the discussion about the historic contribution made by the land institutional change to rapid economic growth and structural changes; and the final part is conclusion and some policy implications. Design/methodology/approach After 40 years of reforms and opening up, China has not only created a growth miracle unparalleled for any major country in human history, but also transformed itself from a rural to an urban society. Behind this great transformation is a systemic reform in land institutions. Rural land institutions went from collectively owned to household responsibility system, thereby protecting farmers’ land rights. This process resulted in long-term sustainable growth in China’s agriculture, a massive rural-urban migration and a historical agricultural transformation. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses and the introduction of market mechanisms made land a policy tool in driving high economic growth, industrialization and urbanization. Findings Research shows that the role of land and its relationship with the economy will inevitably change as China’s economy enters a new stage of medium-to-high speed growth. With economic restructuring, low-cost industrial land will be less effective. Urbanization is also shifting from rapid expansion to endogenous growth so that returns on land capitalization will decrease and risks will increase. Therefore, China must abandon land-dependent growth model through deepening land reforms and adapt a new pattern of economic development. Originality/value This paper gives a brief introduction to the structural characteristics of the Chinese land institutional arrangements, analyzes the reform process of the land system in the past 40 years and its path of change, and evaluates the historic contribution made by the land institutional change to rapid economic growth and structural changes.

scholarly journals Impacts of Legal and Institutional Changes on Irrigation Management Performance: A Case of the Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Elshaikh ◽  
Shi-hong Yang ◽  
Xiyun Jiao ◽  
Mohammed Elbashier
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Management Performance ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Water Surplus ◽  
The Right

This study aims to offer a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of policies and institutional arrangements on irrigation management performance. The case study, the Gezira Scheme, has witnessed a significant decrease in water management performance during recent decades. This situation led to several institutional changes in order to put the system on the right path. The main organizations involved in water management at the scheme are the Ministry of Irrigation & Water Resources (MOIWR), the Sudan Gezira Board (SGB), and the Water Users Associations (WUAs). Different combinations from these organizations were founded to manage the irrigation system. The evaluation of these organizations is based on the data of water supply and cultivated areas from 1970 to 2015. The measured data were compared with two methods: the empirical water order method (Indent) that considers the design criteria of the scheme, and the Crop Water Requirement (CWR) method. Results show that the MOIWR period was the most efficient era, with an average water surplus of 12% compared with the Indent value, while the most critical period (SGB & WUAs) occurred when the water supply increased by 80%. The other periods of the Irrigation Water Corporation (IWC), (SGB & MOIWR), and (WUAs & MOIWR) had witnessed an increase in water supply by 29%, 63%, and 67% respectively. Through these institutional changes, the percentage of excessive water supply jumped from 12% to 80%. Finally, the study provides general recommendations associated with institutional arrangements and policy adoption to improve irrigation system performance.

Designing tradeable rights to manage aquifer recharge according to robust separation principles

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ward ◽  
Peter Dillon ◽  
Agnes Grandgirard
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Robust Separation ◽  
Water Reform

Many cities are experiencing mature urban water economies, characterised by limited opportunities for future water impoundments, rising incremental supply and infrastructure costs, intensified competition and increased interdependencies between diverse water uses. Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is currently promoted as one option to augment existing supplies and in many jurisdictions is assuming increasing importance in the portfolio of urban water management strategies. Consistent with trends in international water policy development, Australian water reform has emphasised institutional and governance approaches promoting voluntary transfers of water through market exchange. The reform process has made substantial advances in addressing the constraints and tensions associated with mature rural water economies, with limited influence in urban water systems. What remains unclear is the degree of alignment of new water management technologies such as ASR operations with explicit water reform directives of market development and the capacity of subsequent urban water legislation to provide consistent and coherent ASR guidelines. The paper describes a systematic approach to align the hydrological characteristics of an aquifer with economic and policy interpretations central to the development and management of ASR. The paper introduces a schema to identify the elements of the urban terrestrial water cycle specific to ASR, the development of a typology to characterise the aquifer potential for ASR, and identify and determine the nature of property rights for each system element according to the principles of robust separation of water rights.

Privatization in the Water Industry

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-123
Author(s):  
R. Andreas Kraemer
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Management Institutions ◽  
And Control

Throughout the world, privatization of water supply and the sewerage services is a controversial topic of political debate. Any nationalization, privatization, municipalization, or alteration in the regulatory regime constitutes a significant change of the institutional mechanism of water management. This article, based on a comparative analysis of water management institutions in selected member states of the European Union, addresses water supply and sewerage services in conurbations with centralized supplies. A brief characterization of water services and the water industry is provided in the context of global water policy developments. Three typical regulatory models are described: the British, based on centralized public policy and surrogate competition by statistical comparison; the French, based on competition for temporary monopolies; and the German or middle-European, based on competition for goods and services and control of limited operational monopolies. A typology of privatization is also presented. This article does not seek to argue that one model is better than another.

Japan's Failed Experiment: The DPJ and Institutional Change for Political Leadership

Asian Survey ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 799-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohito Shinoda
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Change ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Japanese Politics

Abstract With the establishment of the DPJ government, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio introduced a series of institutional changes in order to transform the existing bureaucracy-controlled government and to establish political leadership. These changes, however, created instability and irregularity in Japanese politics. As a result, they were reversed by his successors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document