Political Economy of Groundwater Exploitation: The Israeli Case

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Notes

For examples and specifications of such processes, see Sophocleous (2003) and Koussis et al. (2003).

A discussion of the various forms of property rights is beyond the scope of this paper. For reviews of the definitions of different forms of property rights and their functioning, see Bromley (1991) and Berkes (1996).

One way to enhance efficiency under such a system is to allow trading in rights (Garrido & Livingston, 2003). But trading in water rights has been quite limited, and in some cases it can lead to excessive abstractions from aquifers, if the externalities of pumpage are not internalized in the market (Winpenny, 1994).

On the importance of such entrepreneurship and of ‘policy windows’ in setting agendas and implementing policies, as well as for definitions of these terms, see Kingdon (1984).

For expositions on the reasons that policy outcomes tend to favour interest groups, and particularly small cohesive ones, see Grossman & Helpman (1996), Coate & Morris (1995) and Lohmann (1998).

For the theoretical substantiation of this statement, see Lohmann (1998).

For a more comprehensive account of water resource management in Israel, see Arlosoroff (2001).

Most of this responsibility, though not for pricing, was shifted in 1996 to the newly formed Ministry of National Infrastructure.

The survey was administered by mail and had a response rate of slightly over 50%.

This impasse was overcome for wastewater recycling in 1993 when planners and environmentalists incorporated wastewater treatment as a precondition for residential development in the national plan for immigration absorption and development, thereby forcing housing interests to finance wastewater recycling.

This flexibility is available in Israel as all main reservoirs are interconnected via the national Water Carrier.

This change in position has been explained in a theoretical political economy model, largely structured on the Israeli case, by Rausser & Zusman (1991).

These will also include, in addition to farmers, urban users, industry, the Nature and Parks authority, the tourism health and environmental ministries, as well as environmental NGOs.