RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Fire, Tractors, and Health in the Amazon: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Fire Policy
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 409
OP 434
DO 10.3368/le.95.3.409
VO 95
IS 3
A1 Morello, Thiago
A1 Martino, Simone
A1 Duarte, Alejandro F.
A1 Anderson, Liana
A1 Davis, Katrina J.
A1 Silva, Sonaira
A1 Bateman, Ian J.
YR 2019
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/95/3/409.abstract
AB 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)