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Rural Roads, Farm Labor Exits, and Crop Fires

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy; 2024Description: 420-450ISSN:
  • 1945-7731
Subject(s): Online resources: Summary: Even as policymakers seek to encourage economic development by addressing misallocation due to frictions in labor markets, the associated production externalities-such as air pollution-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: rural roads cause movement of workers out of agriculture and induce farmers to use fire-a labor-saving but polluting technology-to clear agricultural residue or to make harvesting less labor-intensive. Overall, the adoption of fires due to rural roads increases infant mortality rates by 5.5 percent in downwind locations.
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Item type Current library Call number Vol info Status Date due Barcode
Article Index Article Index Dr VKRV Rao Library Vol. 16, No. 3 Not for loan AI452

Even as policymakers seek to encourage economic development by addressing misallocation due to frictions in labor markets, the associated production externalities-such as air pollution-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: rural roads cause movement of workers out of agriculture and induce farmers to use fire-a labor-saving but polluting technology-to clear agricultural residue or to make harvesting less labor-intensive. Overall, the adoption of fires due to rural roads increases infant mortality rates by 5.5 percent in downwind locations.

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