Asymmetric information on the provision of irrigation through a public infrastructure: the case of the Peninsula of Santa Elena, Ecuador

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the problem of irrigation provision through a public infrastructure in an environment of Asymmetric Information (AI) in a dry area of Ecuador. Due to mismanagement of information and bad definition of goals by the government, a massive interest in acquiring communal lands started in the Peninsula of Santa Elena (PSE) after the government announced the construction plan of a large public irrigation system. During this process, information asymmetries regarding the potential of the irrigation system always prevailed in favor of land buyers. After eight years of functioning of the irrigation system, less than 20 percent of its capacity is in use. This leads to a situation in which the operation and maintenance of the canals is not appropriate, thus endangering sustainability of agriculture itself. This paper starts from the hypothesis that AI has an important impact over the observed pattern of land …

Año de publicación:

2006

Keywords:

Fuente:

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