This paper develops a theory of sharecropping which emphasizes the dual role of moral hazard in the provision of effort and financial constraints. The model is compatible with a large variety of contracts as observed in the region of El Ouija in Tunisia.Using an original set of data including financial data, various tests of the theory are realized.The role of financial constraints in the explanation of which type of contract is selected (as well as its implications that financial constraints affect effort and therefore output) are strongly supported by the data.
Water resources is a crucial environmental good for the function of the human societies and the ecosystems. Moreover, water is an important input for the economy and an indispensable factor for economic growth. Especially in regions that are facing water scarcity, the adoption of water management policies and approaches fostering the sustainable use of resources while promoting economic growth becomes an emerging issue. The Mediterranean region is one of the most vulnerable regions regarding the availability of water resources due to climate change and human activities. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus offers an integrated approach analyzing the synergies and trade-offs between the different sectors in order to maximize the efficiency of using the resources, whereas adapting optimum policies and institutional arrangements. The Mediterranean is a region where we observe a large spectrum of issues emanating from water pollution and natural resource degradation to water scarcity, large amounts of food loss and waste and increasing demand for energy and food. Agricultural practices, urban development, demand management for water, and protection of ecosystems, particularly aquatic ecosystems, are areas of particular intervention available to the decision-makers in enhancing availability of water for the various water using sectors. In this context, the current policy note paper aims to address a major issue: how can the implementation of the WEF
Combining the measure of water availability and the socio-economic capacity to access it gives new insights in the fields of water resources management and poverty alleviation. This approach lets researchers think about new multidimensional water scarcity indexes that have contributed to the definition of the water poverty index (WPI). The methodology first used for the calculation of this aggregate index was based on an equally weighted average of its five components (resources, capacity, access, use and environment). The main objective of this paper is to improve this procedure by using an objective weighting scheme. For this purpose we use principal component analysis to give more weight to components with larger variance and to discard components with very small ones. This improved WPI is applied in the case of Tunisia. We have obtained relevant results which could help policy makers to devise better policies to alleviate water poverty in the Inland region which was where the Tunisian revolution began.
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