Forest Cover and Dengue in Costa Rica: Panel Data Analysis of the Effects of Forest Cover Change on Hospital Admissions and Outbreaks

Submitted by Marianela Arguello on

In this study, we estimate the marginal effects of increasing forest cover on dengue prevalence in Costa Rica using econometric models to relate hospital admission records to forest cover maps from 2001 and 2011. We find that increasing the percentage of forest cover significantly decreases both the number of hospital admissions for dengue and the probability of an outbreak.

Conservation, Forestry, Health, Land, Policy Design

Preferences of small-scale gold miners related to formalization – first steps toward sustainable mining supply chains in Colombia

Submitted by Petra Hansson on

Preamble 

Formalization in small-scale gold mining communities in Colombia offers valuable insights into the complexities surrounding this process. Analyzing elements such as the formation of local mining associations, financial contributions to authorities, unpaid work for site restoration, and the influence of gold prices, evidences the diverse preferences and challenges faced by miners. 

Conservation, Experiments, Policy Design

The Costs of Blue Sky: The Distributional Effects of Environmental Regulation on Labor Demand in China

Submitted by Petra Hansson on
EfD Authors:

Based on EfD Discussion Paper by Bing Zhang and Mengdi Liu. 

In response to tougher environmental rules, factories need to cut down on pollution and modify their optimal production decisions, which may have an impact on their labor demand. We look into how China's policy for controlling air pollution in major cities affects jobs. Key Messages 

Air Quality, Gender, Policy Design

Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems

Submitted by Petra Hansson on
EfD Authors:

Governments are catching up with economic theory and practice by increasingly integrating ecosystem service values into national planning processes, including benefit-cost analyses of public policies. Such analyses require information not only about today’s benefits from ecosystem services but also on how benefits change over time. We address a key limitation of existing policy guidance, which assumes that benefits from ecosystem services remain unchanged.

Conservation, Land, Policy Design

Disentangling the chicken or egg problem of household waste sorting and segregated waste collection

Submitted by Petra Hansson on

Merely providing a collection service that ensures waste segregated at source is not mixed during transportation is not enough to induce households to segregate. Information campaigns are a must. 

This research brief is based on the EfD Discussion Paper titled Disentangling the chicken or egg problem of household waste sorting and segregated waste collection: A randomized control trial in India by authors Shivani Wadehra, Zihan Nie, and Francisco Alpizar 

About the study 

Experiments, Policy Design, Urban, Waste

Better access to social activities and education would improve women’s adaptation to salinity intrusion

Submitted by Petra Hansson on

Research questions: How does gender matter in intra-household adaptation choices in response to salinity intrusion and which factors affect the choices?

Agriculture, Climate Change, Policy Design

Alternatives for improving Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) effectiveness on water resources

Submitted by Marianela Arguello on

Environmental Services include all contributions of nature to humans, and these are relative according to the context and the existence of alternatives (IPBES 2019). Ecosystem degradation jeopardizes the sustainable provision of these services. In this context, Payne for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes arose as policy instruments that promote pro-environmental land use through financial incentives for actions that improve, maintain, or maximize the provision of ES (Kim et al. 2016). 

Climate Change, Conservation, Forestry, Land, Policy Design, Water