Irrigation management reforms in China: an assesment of decentralization and water pricing policies
In the early 1990s, the Chinese government elaborated a series of programmes to implement water management reform in the agricultural sector. In essence, this reform involves strengthening the water pricing system and decentralizing irrigation management. Through this reform, the government attempts, on the one hand, to ensure the financing of irrigation agencies, and on the other hand, to persuade water users to adopt water savings practices. The objective of this article is to assess the institutional performances of irrigation management reforms in China. In other words, we aim at determining to what extent and under what circumstances this reform contributes to solving water scarcity problems in China. In order to do so, first, we review the content of irrigation management reforms in China. Second, we examine the reform’s relevance in terms of transaction costs. Lastly, we measure the reform’s impact based on efficiency and equity criteria.