Chinese Agricultural Water Resource Management System Innovation Research

This paper is a detailed study on Chinese agricultural water resources (AWR) management institution innovation including 8 parts. Part 1 is the introduction of the background, the significance, the status quo, the method, the theoretical basis, innovations and shortcomings of the study. Part 2 is the theoretical frame of the study, which comprises the basic NIE (New Institutional Economics) theories (property rights theory, transaction cost theory, institution and its innovation theory) and the concept of AWR management institution: an institutional system which consists of investment in agricultural water conservancy basic facilities (AWCBF investment) and its property rights institution, the AWR management organization institution, and the AWR allocation institution. Part 3 is the positive study on the change and present situation of Chinese AWR management institution, which researches the change and present situation of Chinese AWCBF investment, Chinese AWR management organization institution, and allocation institution of Chinese AWR respectively and summarizes the characteristics of Chinese AWR management institution. Part 4 is the analysis of Chinese AWR management institution surroundings: institutional surroundings (relevant laws, other relevant formal rules, and informal rules) and non-institutional surroundings (farmer household, rural basic organization, government, AWCBF, and AWR). Part 5 is the theoretical analysis of the present Chinese AWR management institution: high transaction cost results from Chinese AWCBF's single-investor and its public property rights, from indistinctness, hierarchy and trust-agent relationship existing in the AWR management organization, and from incomplete agricultural water rights transaction institution, administrative agricultural water price institution and nonstandard agricultural water fee management institution. Part 6 is the international reference of the Chinese AWR management institution innovation, which analyzes the situation of overseas AWR management institution operation and comes to relevant conclusions. Part 7 is the conception of Chinese AWR management institution innovation: constructing multiple large or medium scale AWCBF investment and then multiple property rights institution, constructing the little scale AWCBF investment by joint farmer households and then private property rights institution; constructing AWCBF enterprise in the large or medium scale irrigation district, constructing Water User's Association on the basis of private property rights of little scale AWCBF in the little irrigation district; constructing tradable agricultural water rights institution, scientific agricultural water price institution, and standard agricultural fee management institution. The part 8 is the conclusion and policy enlightenment.