Fire, Tractors, and Health in the Amazon: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Fire Policy

Thiago Morello, Simone Martino, Alejandro F. Duarte, Liana Anderson, Katrina J. Davis, Sonaira Silva and Ian J. Bateman

Abstract

Pollution from agricultural fires is a global health issue that is particularly challenging where smallholders depend on burnings for subsistence. In Acre state, Western Amazon, a partial ban on fire, enforced with fines, is coupled with subsidized tractors. To evaluate this policy, a discrete choice experiment and contingent valuation were merged into a novel statistical variant of the Hicks-Kaldor test that is robust to preference heterogeneity. Among 27 ways to extend the ban, 5 could improve both respiratory health and smallholders’ welfare, when compensated with tractors that are available for longer hours and at the right time of the year. (JEL Q51, Q52)

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