Rents, corruption and political lobbying: impediments to reform in Pakistan irrigation sector ; Rentes, corruption et lobbying politique : obstacles aux réformes dans le secteur irrigué au Pakistan
Most of the developing countries engaged in structural adjustment programs are progressively withdrawing from the management of large scale public irrigation systems. A number of recent studies have highlighted the political difficulties faced by Governments to implement such reforms, raising the question of their political feasibility. After reviewing the irrigation management reforms undertaken in other countries, this research focuses on the Pakistan case, where such a reform has been initiated in 1993. The analysis of 50 years of agricultural policy in Pakistan reveals that most cases of reform failure that have occurred in the past can be attributed to the resistance of powerful interest groups, and more specifically to the coalition of the rural elite with the public administration. In order to understand the opposition of these groups to the proposed irrigation management reform, we analyse the actual functioning of an irrigation system at the local level. A case study is conducted in Southern Punjab to quantify the economic value of the rents threatened by the reform. This study shows that the rents are shared between actors belonging to the private and the public sectors, through a system of administrative and political corruption. The functioning of this system is formalised using a game theoretical framework, and the conclusions derived from this model are empirically validated with an econometric study. The qualitative and quantitative information collected as well the theoretical model are then used to develop a prospective view of the reform. We identify several factors that may generate a significant risk of reform failure and suggest a few measures that could be implemented to mitigate this risk. ; Dans la mouvance des programme d'ajustement structurel, l'Etat se désengage progressivement de la gestion des grands périmètres irrigués publics dans la plupart des pays en développement. Le constat des difficultés politiques rencontrées par les gouvernements pour mettre en ouvre ces réformes soulève ...
