Even as policymakers seek to encourage economic development by addressing misallocation due to frictions in labor markets, the associated production externalities Ð such as air pollution Ð remain unexplored. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show access to rural roads increases agricultural fires and particulate emissions. Farm labor exits are a likely mechanism responsible for the increase in agricultural fires: rural roads cause movement of workers out of agriculture and induce farmers to use fire Ð a labor-saving but polluting technology Ð to clear agricultural residue or to make harvesting less labor-intensive. Overall, the adoption of fires due to rural roads increases infant mortality rate by 5.5% in downwind locations.
Seminars·May 10, 2022
Teevrat Garg, UC San Diego
- Location: Saieh Hall For Economics
- Date and Time: –