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Peace over war: Conflict, contest and cooperation in water sharing

Author

Listed:
  • Rupayan Pal

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

  • Dipti Ranjan Pati

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Abstract

Even as a huge body of empirical evidence points to the cooperation-inducing character of shared water, popular narrative seems to get carried away in its visions of water wars and outright conflict. Theoretical literature largely focuses on bargaining and treaty negotiations as efficient solutions to intractable water conflicts. This paper attempts to explore the possibility of an efficient solution without explicit bargaining, even as players are locked in a contest over shared water. The paper locates water conflict within the scope of contest theory and obtains a cooperative outcome in a non-cooperative game using a linear Contest Success Function (CSF). This is true even when the conflict technology is not `sufficiently ineffective'. A range of outcomes over a spectrum of cooperation, partial conflict and outright conflict is obtained when production and contest abilities are expressed in generalised forms.

Suggested Citation

  • Rupayan Pal & Dipti Ranjan Pati, 2021. "Peace over war: Conflict, contest and cooperation in water sharing," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2021-003, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2021-003
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    File URL: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2021-003.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Contest success function; Cooperation; Endogenous claims; Water conflicts; Property rights;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q34 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Natural Resources and Domestic and International Conflicts
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water

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