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Environmental effects of development programs: Experimental evidence from West African dryland forests

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  • Heß, Simon
  • Jaimovich, Dany
  • Schündeln, Matthias

Abstract

Environmental effects of development programs are the subject of an ongoing debate. We contribute to this debate by studying effects of a randomly allocated, nationwide development program in The Gambia on deforestation, focusing on parts of the country with meaningful baseline forest cover. Our main finding is that the program caused significant increases in annual forest loss. Conservative benchmark estimates imply that 5.6% of all forest loss occurring within 1km of treatment villages during the eight post-program years resulted from the program. Accounting for spillovers, we estimate that the program explains about one quarter of the forest loss around all villages. Looking at possible channels, we find moderate treatment effects of the development program on household wealth and livestock holdings. Further, villages with limited access to markets drive the effect of the program on deforestation.

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  • Heß, Simon & Jaimovich, Dany & Schündeln, Matthias, 2021. "Environmental effects of development programs: Experimental evidence from West African dryland forests," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:153:y:2021:i:c:s0304387821001085
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102737
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    3. Isabelle Chort & Berk Öktem, 2024. "Agricultural shocks, coping policies and deforestation: Evidence from the coffee leaf rust epidemic in Mexico," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(3), pages 1020-1057, May.
    4. Carreira, Igor & Costa, Francisco & Pessoa, João Paulo, 2024. "The deforestation effects of trade and agricultural productivity in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Abman, Ryan & Lundberg, Clark, 2024. "Contracting, market access and deforestation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    6. Abman, Ryan & Lundberg, Clark, 2022. "Market Access and Deforestation," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322251, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Barba, Francisco M. & Jaimovich, Dany, 2022. "Ethnic diversity and forest commons," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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