Dams: Effects of Hydrological Infrastructure on Development

Abstract

Hydrological investments, particularly irrigation dams, have multiple potential benefits for economic development. Dams also have financial, environmental, and distributional impacts that can affect their benefits and costs. This article reviews the evidence on the impact of dams on economic development, focusing on the levels and variability of agricultural productivity, and its effect on poverty, health, electricity generation, and flood control. We also review the evidence on irrigation efficiency and collective action of dam maintenance. Throughout the discussion, we highlight the empirical challenges that restrict the body of causally interpretable impact estimates and areas in which the evidence is particularly thin. We conclude with a discussion of emerging issues pertaining to the long-term sustainability of dams’ impacts and suggest directions for future research.

Productive Workfare? Evidence from Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program

“…Productivity gains from irrigation dams and canals are particularly salient in the literature (see e.g. Asher et al, 2021; Dillon & Fishman, 2019; Duflo & Pande, 2007; Jones et al, 2020). Prior to the PSNP, irrigation was barely developed in Ethiopia: only 0.7% of the land in smallholder agriculture was irrigated in 1998/99 (Jarsso, 2003).…”

Agricultural Innovations to Reduce the Health Impacts of Dams

“…As infrastructure that enables production of both food and energy, dams are a key component of climate change adaptation [1]. They are meant to improve agricultural productivity and reduce vulnerability to droughts [2]. Especially in semi-arid regions experiencing desertification, water management infrastructure for food and energy production is necessary to sustain a growing human population and promote economic development in a changing climate.…”

“…These disparities and uncertainties may be driven in part by the investment required to undertake irrigated agriculture compared to traditional practices. Compared to traditional cultivation of recession crops in floodplains, for example, irrigated agriculture requires greater investment in and use of agrochemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, up-front costs that may be difficult for subsistence farmers to afford [2]. Furthermore, by altering natural flood regimes, dams have also made it difficult or impossible to cultivate recession crops in floodplains [11][12][13][14], forcing farmers to invest in inputs for irrigated crops or turn to another economic activity entirely.…”

Factor Market Failures And The Adoption Of Irrigation In Rwanda

“…Estimates of the return to irrigation in Africa include Dillon (2011), who estimates the returns to irrigation using propensity score matching in Mali. More broadly, Dillon & Fishman (2019) review the literature on the impacts of surface water irrigation infrastructure.…”