The Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Climate

Richard Hornbeck and Pinar Keskin ()

No 17625, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Agriculture on the American Great Plains has been constrained by historical water scarcity. After World War II, technological improvements made groundwater from the Ogallala aquifer available for irrigation. Comparing counties over the Ogallala with nearby similar counties, groundwater access increased irrigation intensity and initially reduced the impact of droughts. Over time, land-use adjusted toward water-intensive crops and drought-sensitivity increased; conversely, farmers in water-scarce counties maintained drought-resistant practices that fully mitigated higher drought-sensitivity. Land values capitalized the Ogallala's value at $26 billion in 1974; as extraction remained high and water levels declined, the Ogallala's value fell to $9 billion in 2002.

JEL-codes: N52 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-env
Note: DAE EEE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Published as "The Historically Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Drought," with Pinar Keskin, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 6(1)190-219 (January 2014).

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