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Qanats

Author

Listed:
  • Alireza Naghavi
  • Mohsen Shaeyan

Abstract

Qanats – traditional small-scale Persian irrigation systems – required a complex of cooperative local institutions for their construction and maintenance. We show that these institutions produced a (local) culture of cooperation in Iran that persists to the present day when qanats are no longer of economic value. We use unique geo-coded data on qanat coordinates in Iran and build an IV using grid-level geological preconditions necessary for construction and functioning of qanats: gently-sloped terrains and intermediate clay content. Qanats impact positively activities of cooperatives, as well as pervasiveness of credit institutions and trust in neighbors, particularly under stable climatic conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Alireza Naghavi & Mohsen Shaeyan, 2023. "Qanats," Development Working Papers 486, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 16 Jan 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:csl:devewp:486
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    File URL: https://dagliano.unimi.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/WP486.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Irrigation; Cooperation; Qanat; Cooperatives; Social capital; Trade routes; Culture; Persistence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N55 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General

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