TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hornbeck,Richard
AU  - Keskin,Pinar
TI  - The Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer:  Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Climate
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 17625
PY  - 2011
Y2  - November 2011
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17625
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17625.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Richard Hornbeck
Department of Economics
Harvard University
232 Littauer Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 202/494-0722
E-Mail: hornbeck@fas.harvard.edu

Pinar Keskin
Department of Economics
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481
pkeskin@wellesley.edu
E-Mail: pkeskin@wellesley.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -