Transfer Restrictions and Misallocation of Irrigation Water

Water is among the most abundant of all materials known to man. In all its various forms, water covers 75 percent of the earth\u27s surface. It is estimated that the total physical quantity of water on the earth is 326,000,000 cubic miles. This apparent abundance belies the true nature of the water resource as it relates to the needs of man. At any given point in time, only a rather minute portion of this vast quantity of water is found in those forms and locations which render it useful to man. This may be attributed to the fact that utility in water is perishable and the efforts of man to amend the hydrological cycle have been successful only to a limited extent

A COMPARISON OF THE ECONOMIC RENT AND CONSUMER SURPLUS METHODS OF VALUING RECREATION BOATING SITES

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Economic Development and Growth of Cities: A Retrospective Synthesis

This paper provides an overview of development strategies and historic growth patterns among major cities in industrialized countries. The papers objective is to identify patterns which may be repeated in the further growth and development of emerging urban centers, such as the Inchon metropolitan complex in Northeast Asia. Selected empirical results and conclusions drawn from recent published work in. regional/urban economics and development economics are synthesized. Topics addressed include: (i) contemporary development issues, strategies, and uncertainties; (ii) long-term growth patterns of cities in industrialized economies; (iii) impacts of agglomeration economies on growth and emergence of networks among major urban centers; and (iv) identification of significant interactions between regional and industrial development initiatives. A contemporary definition of economic development is applied in describing national, industry, and city-focused development strategies. The role of cities, urban-based agglomeration economies and intercity networks are described in terms of how they may influence economic growth and associated development impacts in larger urban centers. Linkages between national development strategies and those focused more narrowly on regions and urban-based infrastructure are described and evaluated. The paper concludes by listing open questions which appear to provide fruitful areas for further study

Ute Self-Determination in Setting Tribal Resource Development Policy

The Ute Indian Tribe of northeastern Utah has large land holdings rich in water and energy resources. Revenues from these sources have created capital that can potentially be used by the Tribe to further develop its resources and expand its agricultural and business enterprises. Realities, however, complicate this simple scenario in that the Tribal goals are broader than pure economic gain and that increased incomes may mean sacrifices in terms of these other goals. The Tribe faces the problem of how best to develop its water resources in a way that best meets its multiplicity of needs. The research team worked with the Utes to articulate their resources development goals, to operationalize those goals through the identification of measureable indicators, to identify promising development policies, to predict what those policies would achieve through changing the indicators, and to set before the Utes the trade offs among the goals. The procedures used in working with the Indians are described. The results were used to construct and use a linear programming model to identify Ute-specific development policies with their impacts and the trade offs among them. The model provides a framework that the Tribe can use to assess the alternatives for developing its water resources

Regional Development: An Econometric Study of the Role of Water Development in Effectuating Population and Income Changes

Twelve measures of regional economic growth, including populations and three measures of income were compared for areas with and without water investment in 246 counties and 42 water resources subareas in the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada. Simple mean omparisons for these measures compiled for the decades of 1940-1950, 1950-1960, and 1960-1970 failed to support the hypothesis that economic growth of those counties and subareas receiving water investment was significantly highter than in those areas which did not, with the possible exception of the 1940-1950 decade. This result is obciously tempered by the fact that with-without comparisons taken on a cross-sectional basis may be inaccurage to the extent that spatial units used in the analysis are not homogenous in all respects but the presence or absence of water investment. Population, farm income, median family income, and per acre agricultural land values as measures of economic growth were regressed on various classes of water investment (Total, M&1, Recreation, and Irrigation investment, and other related variables) for the spatial units. Results obtained from this analysis were inconclusive with respect to the hypothesized role of water investment in effectuating economic growth. For small areas in New Mexico where more detailed records of water investment were available, a nine equation econometric model was estimated using a three-stage least squares analysis. As specified, this model facilitated an examination of the interactive effect of water development as a causal variable and as an endogenous variable which responds to other growth inducements. Test statistics for multi-equation systems are only indicative, and the statistical results were nonconclusive, although expected signs on the coefficients were obtained in most instances. Input-output and economic base-models were used to examine two case studies of water investment in Western Coloado. The objective was to demonstrate the methodology and the magnitudes of change in regional economic activity (gross regional output, exports, income, and employment) which could be associated with major irrigation-type water developments. In this analysis it was found that total gross output attributable to the projects ranged from zero in the petroleum and mining sectors to a high of 260,302 in the dairy industry. Multiplicative effects on employment income and gross economic activity ranged from 1.06 to 2.30 times their initial magnitude. Income and employment multipliers were of similar magnitude. it should be recognized that these estimates cannot e viewed in the same manner as similar growth increments at the national level, as would typically be done, because of the strong possibility of regional offsets occurring in other regions not participating in water development. To the extent that growth in other areas is reduced by the growth of a particular region, these reductions should be subtracted from the growth measured in the latter set of regions. In all tests conducted no conclusive evidence was found taht water development causes regions to grow faster than those regions which did not receive water investment. This is not to say that growth in those regions receiving water investment was not higher than it would have been had the investment not been made. However, it does provide evidence that, an average among the regions included within this analysis, that those areas which did not receive major water investments grow at a faster rate than those which did. Thus, the input-output approach shows potential inpacts from water investment in a general equilibrium context, but rest son the assumption that other concurrent events which could produce similar or offsetting effects in the region are held constant. The cross-section analysis measures total changes in a regional economy overtime, but the multiplicity of events, other than water investment, may obscure the effects of water investment

Drought Management Concepts: Lessons of the 1976-1977 U.S. Drought

Three approaches to drought management are developed as generalized mathematical models. Each model is then applied to particular locations in Utah using the hydrologic/economic data from the 1976-77 drought. The modeling approaches include: (1) A multiple regression approach is used to quantify the changes in water use achieved by three common municipal sector rationing policies: (a) restrictions on time of outdoor use, (b) price increases, and (c) mandatory quantity restrictions (2) A model was presented for determing the optimal long term price schedule for rationing a stochastically variable water supply during summer peak demand season among groups of municipal water users which have different demands. (3) The third model analyzed various management policies in terms of their impact on net benefits to the agricultural and municipal sectors. The model is capable of modifying policies monthly, based upon the chaning hydrologic situation. It can vary constraints in a manner that simulates an institutional environment ranging from total freedom of price changes and water exchanges between sectors to those constraints existing during the 76-77 drought. Conclusions include: 1) Mandatory water use regulations are much more effective than price increases in reducing water use (at least in a short term drought). 2) A theoretical analysis of demand and supply functions showed that Salt Lake City\u27s pricing polity (about $0.25/1000 gallons) is very close to optimal. 3) The third model showed that very substantial losses in consumer surplus in Slat Lake County during the drought were caused by variuos institutional restrictions