Economic allocation of water to crops in international context: a national and global perspective

Many countries are facing severe water scarcity, which is a huge handicap for food production. Understanding water allocation and the relationship between water availability and trade could help to see how trade worsens or mitigates water scarcity and how trade contributes to global water use efficiency. The goal of this thesis is to (i) investigate the economic efficiency of water and land allocation in crop production, (ii) identify possible pathways to improve crop allocation considering comparative advantage and (iii) explore the relationship between water scarcity and crop trade. The first sub goal is approached by taking Tunisia as a case study, the second sub goal is approached by a global study and the third sub goal is approached with both one national and one global study.