RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Do Payments for Environmental Services Affect Forest Cover? A Farm-Level Evaluation from Costa Rica
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 382
OP 399
DO 10.3368/le.88.2.382
VO 88
IS 2
A1 Arriagada, Rodrigo A.
A1 Ferraro, Paul J.
A1 Sills, Erin O.
A1 Pattanayak, Subhrendu K.
A1 Cordero-Sancho, Silvia
YR 2012
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/88/2/382.abstract
AB Payments for environmental services (PES) are popular despite little empirical evidence of their effectiveness. We estimate the impact of PES on forest cover in a region known for exemplary implementation of one of the best-known and longest-lived PES programs. Our evaluation design combines sampling that incorporates prematching, data from remote sensing and household surveys, and empirical methods that include partial identification with weak assumptions, difference-in-differences matching estimators, and tests of sensitivity to unobservable heterogeneity. PES in our study site increased participating farm forest cover by about 11% to 17% of the mean area under PES contract over eight years. (JEL Q57, Q58)