Qanats

Alireza Naghavi and Mohsen Shaeyan

No 486, Development Working Papers from Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano

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.

Keywords: Irrigation; Cooperation; Qanat; Cooperatives; Social capital; Trade routes; Culture; Persistence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D70 N55 O13 O53 Q13 Q15 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-05-10, Revised 2024-01-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-evo and nep-soc
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Working Paper: Qanats (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:csl:devewp:486

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