The Role of Irrigation in the Development of Agriculture in the United States

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: North Carolina State University; Colorado School of Mines; Colorado School of Mines
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050718000608
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 1103-1141
• 关键词: impact; groundwater; RIGHTS

摘要

We examine the role of irrigation in explaining U.S. agricultural gains post-1940. Specifically, we analyze how productivity and farm values changed in the western United States as a result of technological and policy changes that expanded access to ground and surface water. To statistically identify the effects, we compare counties based on their potential access to irrigation water defined by physical characteristics. We find areas with access to large streams and/or groundwater increase crop production relative to areas with only small streams by $19 billion annually, equivalent to 90 percent of the total annual increase in the western United States after 1940.