IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v304y2024ics0378377424004086.html

What is behind water user satisfaction with irrigation organizations´ performance? An empirical analysis under different water scarcity conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Bopp, Carlos
  • Engler, Alejandra
  • Jordan, Cristian
  • Jara-Rojas, Roberto

Abstract

The level of satisfaction of individuals within a community sharing a common pool resource is essential to strengthening collective actions. In the case of irrigation water, which is becoming a critical resource due to its declining availability in many regions worldwide, the satisfaction level in Water User Associations (WUAs) is not guaranteed and also varies across individuals within these organizations. This study analyzed the satisfaction of users in WUAs and identified organization- and user-level characteristics associated with it. Using a sample of 393 users of 20 WUAs from the Mediterranean portion of Chile, we performed confirmatory factor analysis, correlational analyses, and multilevel regressions. A composite indicator of user satisfaction showed significant correlations with the positive evaluation of the WUA staff performance, the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement, and the confidence that other users do not withdraw more water than they are allocated. We also compared users’ satisfaction levels from WUAs facing higher and lower water scarcity problems and found that user satisfaction is significantly higher in the latter case. The results of the multilevel econometric models show that in WUAs under higher water scarcity, user satisfaction is affected by several structural characteristics (water withdrawal mechanism and location along the canal) and users' human and social capital variables (experience, education, and participation in organizations); in contrast, in WUAs with a low level of scarcity, few covariates were significant while unobserved characteristics became more relevant (34 % of total variance explanation). Our study contributes to the existing literature on user satisfaction in community resource management, which could be useful to promote effective and cohesive governance structures as, ultimately, users determine cooperation rates and willingness to participate in WUA actions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bopp, Carlos & Engler, Alejandra & Jordan, Cristian & Jara-Rojas, Roberto, 2024. "What is behind water user satisfaction with irrigation organizations´ performance? An empirical analysis under different water scarcity conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:304:y:2024:i:c:s0378377424004086
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2024.109072
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377424004086
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2024.109072?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean-Philippe Venot, 2014. "Rethinking commons management in Sub-Saharan West Africa: public authority and participation in the agricultural water sector," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 534-548, July.
    2. Araral Jr., Eduardo, 2009. "What Explains Collective Action in the Commons? Theory and Evidence from the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 687-697, March.
    3. Lam, Wai Fung, 1996. "Improving the performance of small-scale irrigation systems: The effects of technological investments and governance structure on irrigation performance in Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(8), pages 1301-1315, August.
    4. Mauricio Herrera & Cristian Candia & Diego Rivera & Douglas Aitken & Daniel Brieba & Camila Boettiger & Guillermo Donoso & Alex Godoy-Faúndez, 2019. "Understanding water disputes in Chile with text and data mining tools," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 302-320, April.
    5. Yang, Yimin & Schmidt, Peter, 2021. "An econometric approach to the estimation of multi-level models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 220(2), pages 532-543.
    6. Uysal, Özlem Karahan & AtIs, Ela, 2010. "Assessing the performance of participatory irrigation management over time: A case study from Turkey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(7), pages 1017-1025, July.
    7. Gorton, Matthew & Sauer, Johannes & Peshevski, Mile & Bosev, Dane & Shekerinov, Darko & Quarrie, Steve, 2009. "Water Communities in the Republic of Macedonia: An Empirical Analysis of Membership Satisfaction and Payment Behavior," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 1951-1963, December.
    8. Elinor Ostrom, 2014. "Do institutions for collective action evolve?," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 3-30, April.
    9. Karami, Ayatollah & Choghakhor, Hamid Yeilagh, 2018. "Fa ctors Affecting Farmer's Satisfaction with Water Users Associations Performance at Gotvand Irrigation Scheme in Khuzestan Province, Iran," International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD), Iranian Association of Agricultural Economics, vol. 8(3), June.
    10. Carlos Bopp & Alejandra Engler & Roberto Jara-Rojas & Claudia Hunecke & Oscar Melo, 2022. "Collective Actions and Leadership Attributes: A Cluster Analysis of Water User Associations in Chile," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(01), pages 1-30, January.
    11. Pablo Sarricolea & Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandon & Óliver Meseguer-Ruiz, 2017. "Climatic regionalisation of continental Chile," Journal of Maps, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 66-73, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Bopp & Carlos Chávez & Cristian Jordán, 2026. "Outsiders and Effective Collective Action in Irrigation Organizations: Do Illegal Withdrawals Harm Internal Cooperation?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 40(5), pages 1-24, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    2. Bouma, Jetske A. & Joy, K.J. & Paranjape, Suhas & Ansink, Erik, 2014. "The Influence of Legitimacy Perceptions on Cooperation – A Framed Field Experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 127-137.
    3. Budiman Subhan Arif & Rondhi Mohammad & Khasan Ahmad Fatikhul & Peratama Bagus & Rokhani & Suwandari Anik & Ridjal Julian Adam & Soemarno & Prijono Sugeng & Soedarto, 2021. "Water Scarcity, Mountain Deforestation and the Economic Value of Water in a Small-Scale Irrigation System: A Case Study in East Java, Indonesia," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 40(2), pages 153-166, June.
    4. Takayama, Taisuke & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "The determinants of collective action in irrigation management systems: Evidence from rural communities in Japan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 113-123.
    5. Vafaei, Elahe & Shahabi Ahangarkolaee, Saeed & Lucas-Borja, Manuel Esteban & Shabanali Fami, Hossein & Zema, Demetrio Antonio, 2021. "A framework to evaluate the factors influencing groundwater management in Water User Associations: The case study of Tafresh County (Iran)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    6. Junichi Ito, 2012. "Collective Action for Local Commons Management in Rural Yunnan, China: Empirical Evidence and Hypotheses Using Evolutionary Game Theory," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(1), pages 181-200.
    7. Daniël Bossuyt & Camila D'Ottaviano, 2025. "THE PATTERNS OF PROTECTION FOR HOUSING COMMONS: Building Occupations in São Paulo," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 1021-1039, September.
    8. Anthony Bennett, 1998. "Sustainable public/private partnerships for public service delivery," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 22(3), pages 193-199, August.
    9. Okumu, Boscow & Muchapondwa, Edwin, 2017. "Determinants of Successful Collective Management of Forest Resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," EfD Discussion Paper 17-11, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    10. Aubrac, Charlotte J. & Harou, Aurelie P. & Balasubramanya, Soumya & Magomba, Christopher & Vasilaky, Kathryn, 2023. "Realized and elicited cooperation under water scarcity: evidence from a field experiment in Tanzania," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335545, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Zemadim, B. & McCartney, Matthew & Langan, Simon & Sharma, Bharat, 2013. "A participatory approach for hydrometeorological monitoring in the Blue Nile River Basin of Ethiopia," IWMI Reports 201009, International Water Management Institute.
    12. Andersson, Krister, 2013. "Local Governance of Forests and the Role of External Organizations: Some Ties Matter More Than Others," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 226-237.
    13. Calvo, Rubén & Álamos, Nicolás & Huneeus, Nicolás & O'Ryan, Raúl, 2022. "Energy poverty effects on policy-based PM2.5 emissions mitigation in southern and central Chile," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    14. Elisa Blanco & Guillermo Donoso & Pablo Camus, 2023. "Water Conflicts in Chile: Have We Learned Anything from Colonial Times?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, September.
    15. Roberto Pizarro & Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich & John E. McCray & Jonathan O. Sharp & Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda & Claudia Sangüesa & Dayana Jaque-Becerra & Pablo Álvarez & Sebastián Norambuena & Alfredo Ibáñ, 2022. "Climate Change and Overuse: Water Resource Challenges during Economic Growth in Coquimbo, Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-10, March.
    16. Ménard, Claude & Kurdin, Alexander & Shastitko, Andrey, 2020. "Out by the door, in through the window: Politics and natural gas regulation in Russia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Ekaterina Borisova, 2011. "Decision to make a HOA: Empirical evidence," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 24(4), pages 48-57.
    18. World Bank, 2020. "Chile’s Forests," World Bank Publications - Reports 33894, The World Bank Group.
    19. Okumu, Boscow & Muchapondwa, Edwin, 2020. "Determinants of successful collective management of forest resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    20. Soto-García, M. & Martínez-Alvarez, V. & García-Bastida, P.A. & Alcon, F. & Martin-Gorriz, B., 2013. "Effect of water scarcity and modernisation on the performance of irrigation districts in south-eastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 11-19.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:304:y:2024:i:c:s0378377424004086. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.