On‐farm irrigation infrastructure programs have become an important method of recovering water for the environment in the Australian Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). These programs offer farmers funding to upgrade infrastructure in return for a portion of their water rights. This study measures the effects of Australian Government on‐farm infrastructure programs in the southern MDB between 2009–2010 and 2016–2017, particularly the On‐Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program. A novel dataset is constructed combining program administrative data with farm survey data. This data is used to derive econometric estimates on the effects of these programs on various measures of farm productivity, profitability and water demand. On‐farm programs are found to have positive effects for participants in terms of higher farm productivity and profitability. However, the study also finds a Jevon's paradox outcome, where farm demand for water is significantly higher post‐upgrade.

中文翻译：

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南部墨累达令河流域农田灌溉基础设施计划对农场的影响

农田灌溉基础设施计划已成为澳大利亚默里-达令盆地（MDB）为环境取水的重要方法。这些计划为农民提供资金以升级基础设施，以换取其部分水权。这项研究衡量了澳大利亚政府对2009-2010年至2016-2017年间南部多边开发银行的农业基础设施计划的影响，尤其是农场灌溉效率计划。结合程序管理数据和农场调查数据构建了一个新颖的数据集。该数据用于得出这些计划对农场生产力，盈利能力和需水量的各种度量的影响的计量经济学估算。发现农场计划对于参与者的更高农场生产力和利润率有积极影响。但是，研究还发现了Jevon的悖论结果，即农场对水的需求在升级后明显更高。