Heterogeneity in population and values and water pollution control: The Ganges in Kanpur and Varanasi, India

Batabyal, Amitrajeet and Yoo, Seung Jick (2023): Heterogeneity in population and values and water pollution control: The Ganges in Kanpur and Varanasi, India.

Abstract

We utilize the public good features of Ganges water pollution clean-up and conduct a game-theoretic analysis of an economy consisting of two Indian cities, Kanpur and Varanasi, through which the Ganges flows. We show how heterogeneity in the two cities in population and the value placed on pollution clean-up determines whether clean-up ought to be centralized or decentralized. Under decentralization, in several scenarios, it is optimal for only one city to clean-up pollution. Under centralization, this exclusive clean-up of pollution is suboptimal but the amount of pollution cleaned up can be larger or smaller than the amount cleaned up under decentralization. We note the broader environmental and public health implications of pollution control and contend that the two differences between Kanpur and Varanasi and the use of majority voting are key factors to consider when pondering how much pollution to clean up in this economy and in other settings.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Clean-up, Ganges River, Population Difference, Values Difference, Water Pollution
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q53 - Air Pollution ; Water Pollution ; Noise ; Hazardous Waste ; Solid Waste ; Recycling; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth

References

Anh, N.T., Gan, C., and Anh, D.L.T. 2022. Multi-market credit rationing: The determinants of and impacts on farm performance in Vietnam, Economic Analysis and Policy, 75, 159-173.

Batabyal, A.A. 2023. Tanneries in Kanpur and pollution in the Ganges: A theoretical analysis, Regional Science Policy and Practice, 15, 1114-1123.

Batabyal, A.A., and Beladi, H. 2017. Cleaning the Ganges in Varanasi to attract tourists, Atlantic Economic Journal, 45, 511-513.

Batabyal, A.A., and Beladi, H. 2019. Probabilistic approaches to cleaning the Ganges in Varanasi to attract tourists, Natural Resource Modeling, 32, e12177, 1-11.

Batabyal, A.A., and Beladi, H. 2020. A political economy model of the Ganges pollution cleanup problem, Natural Resource Modeling, 33, e12285, 1-12.

Batabyal, A.A., and Beladi, H. 2023. Centralized versus decentralized cleanup of river water pollution: An application to the Ganges, Games, 14(5), 66.

Batabyal, A.A., Kourtit, K., and Nijkamp, P. 2023a. Polluting tanneries and small farmers in Kanpur, India: A theoretical analysis, Environmental Modeling and Assessment, 28, 331-336.

Batabyal, A.A., Kourtit, K., and Nijkamp, P. 2023b. Climate change and water pollution: An application to the Ganges in Kanpur, Natural Resource Modeling, 36, e12370.

Batabyal, A.A., and Yoo, S.J. 2022. A theoretical analysis of costs, waste treatment, pollution in the Ganges, and leather production by tanneries in Kanpur, India, Regional Science Inquiry, 14, 47-53.

Bhaduri, A., and Barbier, E.B. 2008a. Political altruism of transboundary water sharing, B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy, 8, Issue 1.

Bhaduri, A., and Barbier, E.B. 2008b. International water transfer and sharing: The case of the Ganges river, Environment and Development Economics, 13, 29-51.

Black, G. 2016. Purifying the goddess, The New Yorker, 92, 46-53.

Das, P., and Tamminga, K.R. 2012. The Ganges and the GAP: An assessment of efforts to clean a sacred river, Sustainability, 4, 1647-1668.

Dhillon, A. 2014. Ganga management, South China Morning Post, September 14. http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1589301/ganga-management. Accessed on 22 February 2024.

Ferrer, A., Thanh, L.H., Kiet, N.T., Chuong, P.H., Trang, V.T., and Hopanda, J.C. 2022. The impact of an adjusted cropping calendar on the welfare of rice farming households in the Mekong river delta, Vietnam, Economic Analysis and Policy, 73, 639-652.

Gallagher, S. 2014. “India: The toxic price of leather.” Pulitzer Center, February 4. https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/india-toxic-price-leather-0. Accessed on 22 February 2024.

Gibbons, R. 1992. A Primer in Game Theory. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hertfordshire, UK.

Hindriks, J., and Myles, G.D. 2013. Intermediate Public Economics, 2nd edition. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Islam, M.S.N., and Gnauck, A. 2009. Threats to the Sundarbans mangrove wetland ecosystems from transboundary water allocation in the Ganges basin: A preliminary problem analysis, International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics, 13, 64-78.

Jain, C.K., and Singh, S. 2020. Impact of climate change on the hydrological dynamics of river Ganga, India, Journal of Water and Climate Change, 11, 274-290.

Jani, K., Ghattargi, V., Pawar, S., Inamdar, M., Shouche, Y., and Sharma, A. 2018. Anthropogenic activities induce depletion in microbial communities at urban sites of the river Ganges, Current Microbiology, 75, 79-83.

Kedzior, S.B. 2017. ‘Preemptive participation’ and environmental awareness across Indian water quality policy, Journal of Environment and Development, 26, 272-296.

Kumar, L., Deitch, M.J., Tunio, I.A., Kumar, A., Memon, S.A., Williams, L., Uroosa, T., Kumari, R., and Basheer, S. 2022. Assessment of physicochemical parameters in groundwater quality of desert area (Tharparkar) of Pakistan, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 6, 100232.

Kumar, L., Kumari, R., Kumar, A., Tunio, I.A., and Sassanelli, C. 2023. Water quality assessment and monitoring in Pakistan: A comprehensive review, Sustainability, 15, 6246.

Lee, S., and Mitchell, S.M. 2019. Energy resources and the risk of conflict in shared river basins, Journal of Peace Research, 56, 336-351.

Markandya, A., and Murty, M.N. 2004. Cost-benefit analysis of cleaning the Ganges: Some emerging environment and development issues, Environment and Development Economics, 9, 61-81.

Matta, G., Nayak, A., Kumar, A., and Kumar, P. 2020. Water quality assessment using NSFWQI, OIP, and multivariate techniques of Ganga river system, Uttarakhand, India, Applied Water Science, 10, 206.

Nazir, A., Khan, M.A., and Ghosh, P. 2022. Assessment of variations in metal concentrations of the Ganges river by using multivariate statistical techniques, Limnologica, 95, 125989.

Salman, S.M.A., and Uprety, K. 1999. Hydro-politics in South Asia: A comparative analysis of the Mahakali and the Ganges treaties, Natural Resources Journal, 39, 295-343.

Sanyal, S. 2013. Land of the Seven Rivers. Penguin, New Delhi, India.

Sharma, R., Kumar, R., Sharma, D.K., Sarkar, M., Mishra, B.K., Puri, V., Priyadarshani, I., Thong, P.H., Ngo, P.T.T., and Nhu, V. 2022. Water pollution examination through quality analysis of different rivers: A case study in India, Environment, Development, and Sustainability, 24, 7471-7492.

Tadelis, S. 2013. Game Theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Vaidyanathan, S., and Mitra, S. 2011. Rivers of India. Niyogi Books, New Delhi, India.

Wohl, E. 2010. A World of Rivers. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

Xing, S., and Batabyal, A.A. 2019. A safe minimum standard, an elasticity of substitution, and the cleanup of the Ganges in Varanasi, Natural Resource Modeling, 32, e12223, 1-11.

Xu, J., Wang, H., and Tang, K. 2022. The sustainability of industrial structure on green eco-efficiency in the Yellow River basin, Economic Analysis and Policy, 74, 775-788.

Younas, A., Kumar, L., Deitch, M.J., Qureshi, S.S., Shafiq, J., Naqvi, S.A., Kumar, A., Amjad, A.Q., Nizamuddin, S. 2022. Treatment of industrial wastewater in a floating treatment wetland: A case study of Sialkot tannery, Sustainability, 14, 12854.