Comparative institutional analysis of customary rights and colonial law in spate irrigation systems of Pakistani Punjab

This paper investigates how political processes shape the institutional arrangements and affect the rules-in-use and performance of small-scale tribal and state-administered irrigation systems in Pakistan's Punjab region using the ADICO institutional grammar proposed by Crawford and Ostrom. Externally crafted rules failed to fully incorporate context-specific needs and enforceability due to complex and unclear institutional statements as compared to locally evolved customary rules. The formulation and enforceability of policy designs need to be improved for effective management and the institutional grammar needs to be expanded for broader applicability across different linguistic contexts.