Explaining Irrigation Technology Choices: A Microparameter Approach

Water price reforms are increasingly being used to encourage improvements in irrigation efficiency through technology adoption. A microparameter approach based on field-level data is used to assess the effect of economic variables, environmental characteristics, and institutional variables on irrigation technology choices. The results show that water price is not the most important factor governing irrigation technology adoption; physical and agronomic characteristics appear to matter more. The results demonstrate the importance of using micro-level data to determine the effects of asset heterogeneity and crop type on technology adoption. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.