Sharing the benefits of hydropower: Co-investing the economic rents

I explore the potential for sharing the financial benefits of hydropower development in the Greater Mekong Subregion, which includes Cambodia, Lao PDR (Laos), Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and a small portion of China. In particular, I describe the possibility of implementing a region-wide fee on the economic rents made possible by generating and selling electricity. Such a fee would establish a sizeable annual fund that could support investments in infrastructure and facilities that would enhance economic development and improve livelihoods, particularly in the poorer countries in the region. The fund could be managed by an oversight board or an advisory panel comprised of representatives from participating countries. I present an empirical, although hypothetical, example of a benefit sharing program that might be implemented in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, and I describe alternative methods of allocating or investing the revenue collected. The discussion is largely conceptual, as many challenges would arise in actually implementing a transborder rent sharing program. My goal is to describe the potential benefits such a program might generate in the Greater Mekong Subregion, rather than recommending the specific form such a program might take.