Damming the Commons: An Empirical Analysis of International Cooperation and Conflict in Dam Location / Sheila M. Olmstead, Hilary Sigman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olmstead, Sheila M.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Sigman, Hilary.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w20389.

NBER working paper series no. w20389

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2014.

Summary:

This paper examines whether countries consider the welfare of other nations when they make water development decisions. We estimate econometric models of the location of major dams around the world as a function of the degree of international sharing of rivers. We find that dams are more prevalent in areas of river basins some distance upstream of foreign countries, supporting the view that countries free ride in exploiting water resources. We find some evidence that international institutions, in particular multinational financing and international water management treaties, may mitigate this free riding.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2014.