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Spilling Over : The Benefits of Public Works Projects for Groundwater in India

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  • A. Patrick Behrer
  • Pullabhotla,Hemant

Abstract

Depletion of groundwater is a major challenge in India. This paper examines how a major rural public works program (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005) that financed the construction of surface water infrastructure that may have plausibly increased aquifer recharge rates impacted groundwater levels. Using a difference-in-differences approach on the staggered and heterogeneous rollout of the program, the paper shows that groundwater levels increased after its implementation. These increases were concentrated in states that constructed the largest number of program-financed surface water projects. The observed increases in groundwater appear to have led to increases in the irrigated area of high-value crops and greater overall irrigation during the dry season.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Patrick Behrer & Pullabhotla,Hemant, 2024. "Spilling Over : The Benefits of Public Works Projects for Groundwater in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10886, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10886
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Berg, Erlend & Bhattacharyya, Sambit & Rajasekhar, D. & Manjula, R., 2018. "Can public works increase equilibrium wages? Evidence from India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 239-254.
    3. Sheetal Sekhri, 2014. "Wells, Water, and Welfare: The Impact of Access to Groundwater on Rural Poverty and Conflict," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 76-102, July.
    4. Paul J. Gertler & Sebastian W. Martinez & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2012. "Investing Cash Transfers to Raise Long-Term Living Standards," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 164-192, January.
    5. Richard Hornbeck & Pinar Keskin, 2014. "The Historically Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Drought," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 190-219, January.
    6. Jennifer Alix-Garcia & Craig McIntosh & Katharine R. E. Sims & Jarrod R. Welch, 2013. "The Ecological Footprint of Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Mexico's Oportunidades Program," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 417-435, May.
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