The impact of the south-to-north water diversion project on the usage of water-saving irrigation machinery

Abstract

Agricultural water-saving irrigation represents an important component of environmental protection with the potential to improve economic development and environmental protection of water-receiving areas, but little is known about the relationship between South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the usage of water-saving irrigation machinery. This paper exploits the 2013–2014 China South-to-North Water Diversion Project reforms which significantly alleviated the water shortage problem in north China. By linking administrative claims data to water-saving irrigation machinery numbers for water-receiving provinces and the control provinces, this paper finds that water-receiving provinces experienced a 19.6 percent post-reform decline in water-saving irrigation machinery usage, and a 7.3 percent drop in water-saving irrigation area relative to other provinces.