The Externalities of a Deforestation Control Policy in Infant Health: Evidence from Brazil

Carillo, B.; Branco, D.; Trujillo, J.; Lima, J.;
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Danyelle Branco and Juan C. Trujillo

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: The burning of forest releases a wide range of contaminants, some of which are known to be hazardous for health. Traditional estimates of the costs of deforestation rarely incorporate the health effects of pollution generated by deforestation. This paper provides the first estimates of the local externalities of deforestation in infant health. Our approach exploits a conservation policy that generated a sharp drop in deforestation across municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. The core findings are that deforestation control policy led to reductions in the incidence of very low birth weight and extreme prematurity, especially for boys. Collectively, these findings provide additional justification for controlling deforestation.

Keywords: Deforestation; Environmental Quality; Conservation Policy; Infant Health; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 K32 Q51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-env and nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Externalities of a Deforestation Control Policy in Infant Health: Evidence from Brazil (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:yor:hectdg:17/09

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