演講者簡介 : Professor Lei received his Ph.D. in Economics from London School of Economics in 2016. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Yale - NUS College. His research interests are Political economics, Development economics, and Chinese economy.
演講摘要 : Conflicts over water resources have always been prevalent in countries along the same river. As a result, governments build dams to withhold water, which may lead to various impacts on the downstream countries. This project examines the effect of large dams built along the Mekong River within the Chinese border on downstream water availability and agricultural efficiency. We find that the upstream dams: 1) smoothen water discharge and level between dry and wet seasons; 2) improve agricultural efficiency; 3) however, withhold more water when rainfall is abnormally scarce and exacerbate downstream drought. The result suggests that the threat of climate change brings to the forefront the need for more accountability from upstream countries, and the need for better international coordination in the governance of valuable shared resources such as our international rivers.
