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<br />impacts in the agricultural sector were overstated and because of need to <br />discount for the multi-year lag between upstream salinity reductlon and <br />~ downstream water quality improvement, the realized benefits per unit of salt <br />~ <br />Cj removed are probably less than half that cla1med 1n the government's analysis.2 <br />U1 <br />Apply1ng thls result to so-called "structural" (public investment) solutlons to <br />mostly natural sallnity sources, only five of twenty proposed projects met <br />econom1c feasib1lity standards. <br />This art1cle extends our earlier analysis to non-structural <br /> <br />(lnstltutlonal) control approaches, and 1s an example of "analytical <br />lnstltutlonal economlcs" (Schmid). Rather than assumlng ex1stlng 1nstitutlonal <br />arrangements as given, the effects of chang1ng the rules of the game are <br /> <br />examlned. <br /> <br />(See also Randall). Pollcy lmpacts are assessed ln terms of <br /> <br />allocat1ve efflc1ency and how the beneflts and burdens of alternatlve control <br /> <br />programs are distributed. Allocatlve efficiency is measured accordlng to <br /> <br />conventlonal welfare econom1c crlteria; that is whether and to what degree <br /> <br />benef1c1arles' w11l1ngness to pay for favorable 1mpacts of a. strategy exceed <br />the willingness of part1es adversely affected to pay to avoid fts <br />1mplementat1on (M1shan). Alternative entltlement s1tuations are identlfied, <br />together w1th the lmplied llabllity or responsibllltles for bearlng the costs <br />of salin1ty damages and/or abatement' expenses. The dlstributlve lmpacts are <br />captured by estimat1ng the tangible econom1c effects on Upper Basin irrigators, <br />down-river water users, and the federal taxpayers. <br /> <br />The general approach 1s to first estimate the relative costs of <br />alternatlve on-farm irrlgatlon practices for reducing salt loading. Then, <br />several control strategies are identified and evaluated for cost- <br />effectiveness. Next, the net direct galns (losses) to the Basin economy are <br /> <br />4 <br />