IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v185y2020ics0308521x20308015.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quantifying the soil erosion legacy of the Soviet Union

Author

Listed:
  • Wuepper, David
  • Borrelli, Pasquale
  • Mueller, Daniel
  • Finger, Robert

Abstract

We examine the historical legacy of the Soviet Union on the current rate of human-induced soil erosion in its successor countries. We use a spatial regression discontinuity design and high-resolution soil erosion data. Our results suggest strong discontinuities in current soil erosion rates along the former border of the Soviet Union. We find that soil erosion in countries that were part of the former Soviet Union is 26% lower than in neighboring countries (0.77 tons per hectare and year). In contrast, we do not find such discontinuity in potential soil erosion under natural vegetation, underlining that this effect is man-made. We show that the main mechanism is a sharp discontinuity in forest dynamics, whereas general economic and demographic differences are less important.

Suggested Citation

  • Wuepper, David & Borrelli, Pasquale & Mueller, Daniel & Finger, Robert, 2020. "Quantifying the soil erosion legacy of the Soviet Union," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:185:y:2020:i:c:s0308521x20308015
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X20308015
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102940?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2004. "Trade, Growth, and the Environment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 7-71, March.
    2. Acharya, Avidit & Blackwell, Matthew & Sen, Maya, 2016. "Explaining Causal Findings Without Bias: Detecting and Assessing Direct Effects," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(3), pages 512-529, August.
    3. Ephraim Nkonya & Alisher Mirzabaev & Joachim von Braun (ed.), 2016. "Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement – A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-19168-3, June.
    4. Sartori, Martina & Philippidis, George & Ferrari, Emanuele & Borrelli, Pasquale & Lugato, Emanuele & Montanarella, Luca & Panagos, Panos, 2019. "A linkage between the biophysical and the economic: Assessing the global market impacts of soil erosion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 299-312.
    5. Faria, Weslem Rodrigues & Almeida, Alexandre Nunes, 2016. "Relationship between openness to trade and deforestation: Empirical evidence from the Brazilian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 85-97.
    6. Sebastian Calonico & Matias D. Cattaneo & Rocio Titiunik, 2014. "Robust Nonparametric Confidence Intervals for Regression‐Discontinuity Designs," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82, pages 2295-2326, November.
    7. Lerman, Zvi & Csaki, Csaba & Feder, Gershon, 2004. "Evolving Farm Structures and Land Use Patterns in Former Socialist Countries," Discussion Papers 289993, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management.
    8. Sebastian Calonico & Matias D Cattaneo & Max H Farrell, 2020. "Optimal bandwidth choice for robust bias-corrected inference in regression discontinuity designs," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 23(2), pages 192-210.
    9. Brausmann, Alexandra & Bretschger, Lucas, 2018. "Economic development on a finite planet with stochastic soil degradation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 1-19.
    10. Wuepper, David & Wimmer, Stefan & Sauer, Johannes, 2020. "Is small family farming more environmentally sustainable? Evidence from a spatial regression discontinuity design in Germany," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Maxim L. Pinkovskiy, 2017. "Growth discontinuities at borders," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 145-192, June.
    12. Sebastian Calonico & Matias D. Cattaneo & Rocío Titiunik, 2015. "Optimal Data-Driven Regression Discontinuity Plots," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 110(512), pages 1753-1769, December.
    13. Patrick Meyfroidt & Florian Schierhorn & Alexander Vladimirovich Prishchepov & Daniel Muller & Tobias Kuemmerle, 2016. "Drivers, Constraints and Trade-Offs Associated with Recultivating Abandoned Cropland in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan," Spatial Economics=Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika, Economic Research Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Khabarovsk, Russia), issue 2, pages 55-103.
    14. Barbier, Edward B., 2000. "Links between economic liberalization and rural resource degradation in the developing regions," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 299-310, September.
    15. Lesiv, Myroslava & Schepaschenko, Dmitry & Moltchanova, Elena & Bun, Rostyslav & Dürauer, Martina & Prishchepov, Alexander V. & Schierhorn, Florian & Estel, Stephan & Kuemmerle, Tobias & Alcántara, Ca, 2018. "Spatial distribution of arable and abandoned land across former Soviet Union countries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5, pages 1-12.
    16. Scott Rozelle & Johan F.M. Swinnen, 2004. "Success and Failure of Reform: Insights from the Transition of Agriculture," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(2), pages 404-456, June.
    17. David Wuepper, 2020. "Does culture affect soil erosion? Empirical evidence from Europe [Perceived behavioral control, self‐efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(2), pages 619-653.
    18. Kanter, David R. & Musumba, Mark & Wood, Sylvia L.R. & Palm, Cheryl & Antle, John & Balvanera, Patricia & Dale, Virginia H. & Havlik, Petr & Kline, Keith L. & Scholes, R.J. & Thornton, Philip & Titton, 2018. "Evaluating agricultural trade-offs in the age of sustainable development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 73-88.
    19. Alix-Garcia, Jennifer & Walker, Sarah & Radeloff, Volker & Kozak, Jacek, 2018. "Tariffs and Trees: The Effects of the Austro-Hungarian Customs Union on Specialization and Land-Use Change," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(4), pages 1142-1178, December.
    20. Alcantara, Camilo & Kuemmerle, Tobias & Baumann, Matthias & Bragina, Eugenia V & Griffiths, Patrick & Hostert, Patrick & Knorn, Jan & Müller, Daniel & Prishchepov, Alexander V & Schierhorn, Florian & , 2013. "Mapping the extent of abandoned farmland in Central and Eastern Europe using MODIS time series satellite data," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8(3), pages 1-9.
    21. Bonilla-Mejía, Leonardo & Higuera-Mendieta, Iván, 2019. "Protected Areas under Weak Institutions: Evidence from Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 585-596.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frederik Noack & Ashley Larsen & Johannes Kamp & Christian Levers, 2022. "A bird's eye view of farm size and biodiversity: The ecological legacy of the iron curtain," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(4), pages 1460-1484, August.
    2. David Wuepper & Robert Finger, 2023. "Regression discontinuity designs in agricultural and environmental economics," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(1), pages 1-28.
    3. Vanessa Cirulli & Giuliano Resce & Marco Ventura, 2024. "Co-payment exemption and healthcare consumption: quasi-experimental evidence from Italy," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 355-380, July.
    4. Robin Harding & Mounu Prem & Nelson A. Ruiz & David Vargas, 2021. "Buying a Blind Eye: Campaign Donations, Forbearance, and Deforestation in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 19296, Universidad del Rosario.
    5. Robert Pazúr & Juraj Lieskovský & Matthias Bürgi & Daniel Müller & Tibor Lieskovský & Zhen Zhang & Alexander V. Prishchepov, 2020. "Abandonment and Recultivation of Agricultural Lands in Slovakia—Patterns and Determinants from the Past to the Future," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Bård Harstad, 2020. "Trade and Trees: How Trade Agreements Can Motivate Conservation Instead of Depletion," CESifo Working Paper Series 8569, CESifo.
    7. Xingchi Shen & Yueming Lucy Qiu & Pengfei Liu & Anand Patwardhan, 2022. "The Effect of Rebate and Loan Incentives on Residential Heat Pump Adoption: Evidence from North Carolina," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 82(3), pages 741-789, July.
    8. Guastavino, Carlos & Miranda, Alvaro & Montero, Rodrigo, 2021. "Rank effect in bureaucrat recruitment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Baumann, Matthias & Kamp, Johannes & Pötzschner, Florian & Bleyhl, Benjamin & Dara, Andrey & Hankerson, Brett & Prishchepov, Alexander V. & Schierhorn, Florian & Müller, Daniel & Hölzel, Norbert & Krä, 2020. "Declining human pressure and opportunities for rewilding in the steppes of Eurasia," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(9), pages 1058-1070.
    10. T. G. Nefedova & A. A. Medvedev, 2020. "Shrinkage of the Developed Space in Central Russia: Population Dynamics and Land Use in Rural Areas," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 549-561, October.
    11. Takaku, Reo & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2021. "What the COVID-19 school closure left in its wake: Evidence from a regression discontinuity analysis in Japan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    12. de Gendre, Alexandra & Lynch, John & Meunier, Aurélie & Pilkington, Rhiannon & Schurer, Stefanie, 2021. "Child Health and Parental Responses to an Unconditional Cash Transfer at Birth," IZA Discussion Papers 14693, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Bård Harstad, 2022. "Trade, Trees, and Contingent Trade Agreements," CESifo Working Paper Series 9596, CESifo.
    14. Cantoni, Enrico & Gazzè, Ludovica & Schafer, Jerome, 2021. "Turnout in concurrent elections: Evidence from two quasi-experiments in Italy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    15. Balila Acurio & Alessandro Tomarchio, 2024. "The Effects of Business Credit Support Programs: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design," IHEID Working Papers 20-2024, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    16. Mellace, Giovanni & Ventura, Marco, 2019. "Intended and unintended effects of public incentives for innovation. Quasi-experimental evidence from Italy," Discussion Papers on Economics 9/2019, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics.
    17. Raphael Bruce & Alexsandros Cavgias & Luis Meloni & Mario Remigio, 2021. "Under Pressure: Women's Leadership During the COVID-19 Crisis," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_19, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    18. Hasan, Rana & Jiang, Yi & Rafols, Radine Michelle, 2021. "Place-based preferential tax policy and industrial development: Evidence from India’s program on industrially backward districts," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    19. Richard Bluhm & Maxim Pinkovskiy, 2021. "The spread of COVID-19 and the BCG vaccine: A natural experiment in reunified Germany," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 24(3), pages 353-376.
    20. Quaresima Federico & Santolini Raffaella & Fiorillo Fabio, 2020. "Political affiliation in post-parliamentary careers in Italian public enterprises," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 35-64, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:185:y:2020:i:c:s0308521x20308015. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.