Local Effects of Payments for Ecosystem Services on Rural Poverty

Submitted by Marianela Arguello on

Using household surveys and spatial geographic data, we are able to control for socioeconomic and geographic characteristics at the individual and census-tract levels. Our results suggest that while payments did not affect poverty rates at the national level, poverty did increase in places where PES had the greatest effect on deforestation. This effect is stronger for uneducated males, who tend to work in agricultural activities.

Agriculture, Climate Change, Conservation, Forestry

Challenges to institutionalizing strategic environmental assessment: The case of Vietnam

Submitted by Mark Senanu Ku… on

Building on new institutional theory, this paper develops an analytical framework for analyzing constraints to the institutionalization of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) at four different institutional levels. The framework is tested in an empirical analysis of the environmental assessment system in Vietnam, which is a frontrunner among developing countries regarding the introduction and use of SEA.

Circular economy could expose children to hazardous phthalates and chlorinated paraffins via old toys and childcare articles

Submitted by Mark Senanu Ku… on

The European waste framework directive encourages reuse, refurbishment and recycling of products and materials in order to reduce plastic waste. However, thousands of chemicals are used in plastic materials. Many of these are potentially toxic, and may cause hormonal and developmental disruption in children. This includes phthalates and short chain chlorinated paraffins, which are used as plasticizers and flame-retardants. European legal frameworks regulate the amounts of these substances in toys in an effort to protect children's health and safety.

Modeling household cooking fuel choice: A panel multinomial logit approach

Submitted by Mark Senanu Ku… on

We use three rounds of a rich panel data set to investigate the determinants of household cooking fuel choice and energy transition in urban Ethiopia. We observe that the expected energy transition did not occur following economic growth in Ethiopia during the decade 2000–2009. Regression results from a random effects multinomial logit model, which controls for unobserved household heterogeneity, show that households' economic status, price of alternative energy sources, and education are important determinants of fuel choice in urban Ethiopia.

The persistence of energy poverty: A dynamic probit analysis

Submitted by Mark Senanu Ku… on

This paper contributes to the growing literature on energy poverty in developing countries. We use a dynamic probit estimator on three rounds of panel data from urban Ethiopia to estimate a model of the probability of being energy poor and to investigate the persistence of energy poverty.

Air pollution exposure and COVID-19: A look at mortality in Mexico City using individual-level data

Submitted by Mark Senanu Ku… on

We use individual-level data to estimate the effects of long- and short-term exposure to air pollution (PM2.5) on the probability of dying from COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to look at this relationship using individual-level data. We find that for Mexico City there is evidence of a positive relationship between pollution and mortality that significantly grows with age and that appears to be mostly driven by long- rather than short-term exposure.

Air Quality, Covid-19