The human capital transition and the role of policy

Along with information and communication technology, infrastructure, and the innovation system, human capital is a key pillar of the knowledge economy with its scope for increasing returns. With this in mind, the purpose of this chapter is to investigate how industrialized economies managed to achieve the transition from low to high levels of human capital. The first phase of the human capital transition was the result of the interaction of supply and demand, triggered by technological change and boosted by the demands for (immaterial) services. The second phase of the human capital transition (i.e., mass education) resulted from enforced legislation and major public investment. The state’s aim to influence children’s beliefs appears to have been a key driver in public investment. Nevertheless, the roles governments played differed according to the developmental status and inherent socioeconomic and political characteristics of their countries. These features of the human capital transition highlight the importance of understanding governments’ incentives and roles in transitions

Opportunity costs of virtual water: a justification for green-water based agricultural capacity growth for economic, social and environmental sustainability

Traditional development of water and agriculture based on irrigation tends to lead to over-extraction of environmentally-derived water as water use rises to an unsustainable peak. This behaviour is traditionally remedied by maintaining agricultural production while re-investing in efficiency and alternative water resources. Such behaviours effectively pay twice for the same production capacity. An alternative approach would adopt a different development pathway; a conjunctive use of both irrigation (blue) water and rainfed soil (green) water to provide a reliable production, meaning that ‘virtual water’ exported in crops contains less blue water. Blue water resources can then be directed at activities with a higher opportunity cost (industrial and municipal use), yielding greater value per drop to local populations, especially important when using non-renewable groundwater. Through sustainable optimisation of resource allocation, the new paradigm of agricultural water development avoids, an unsustainable over-development of water, and greater virtual water sustainability

A development pathway to optimise sustainability of water investment and minimise social cost

Traditional development of water and agriculture based on irrigation tends to lead to over-extraction of water from the environment as water use ‘peaks’. The remedy to this behaviour is to re-invest in efficiency improvements and alternative water resources, in effect paying twice for capacity. An alternative is to adopt a different development pathway, utilising both irrigation (blue) water and rainfed soil (green) water to provide a reliable supply. Such conjunctive use means that ‘virtual water’ exported in crops contains less blue water. This means the higher opportunity cost of blue water use can be directed to advantage local populations, especially important when considering non-renewable groundwater resources. The new paradigm avoids ‘peak water’ through sustainable optimisation of available resources

A development pathway to optimise sustainability of water investment and minimise social cost

Traditional development of water and agriculture based on irrigation tends to lead to over-extraction of water from the environment as water use ‘peaks’. The remedy to this behaviour is to re-invest in efficiency improvements and alternative water resources, in effect paying twice for capacity. An alternative is to adopt a different development pathway, utilising both irrigation (blue) water and rainfed soil (green) water to provide a reliable supply. Such conjunctive use means that ‘virtual water’ exported in crops contains less blue water. This means the higher opportunity cost of blue water use can be directed to advantage local populations, especially important when considering non-renewable groundwater resources. The new paradigm avoids ‘peak water’ through sustainable optimisation of available resources

Opportunity costs of virtual water: a justification for green-water based agricultural capacity growth for economic, social and environmental sustainability

Traditional development of water and agriculture based on irrigation tends to lead to over-extraction of environmentally-derived water as water use rises to an unsustainable peak. This behaviour is traditionally remedied by maintaining agricultural production while re-investing in efficiency and alternative water resources. Such behaviours effectively pay twice for the same production capacity. An alternative approach would adopt a different development pathway; a conjunctive use of both irrigation (blue) water and rainfed soil (green) water to provide a reliable production, meaning that ‘virtual water’ exported in crops contains less blue water. Blue water resources can then be directed at activities with a higher opportunity cost (industrial and municipal use), yielding greater value per drop to local populations, especially important when using non-renewable groundwater. Through sustainable optimisation of resource allocation, the new paradigm of agricultural water development avoids, an unsustainable over-development of water, and greater virtual water sustainability

Rivers and reciprocity: perceptions and policy on international watercourses

The paper analyses geopolitical dimensions of the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UNWC) using quantitative data on transboundary flows and qualitative data on basin State location within a watercourse. The UNWC has had a long and difficult history. A tendency for downstream support for, and upstream ambivalence/opposition to, the UNWC is identified. It appears not widely recognised that adverse effects can be caused by any State on other States, regardless of their upstream or downstream location. Thus downstream States consider that their actions cannot harm upstream States and upstream States consider that the UNWC provides them with greater obligations than downstream States. Clarification that the principle of reciprocity underpins the UNWC, with reciprocal obligations on all States, will remove any ambiguity, correct misperceptions, have clear policy implications for all States, promote UNWC engagement of upstream States, and contribute to long-term global water security