Forest fires and economic incentives: Impact of forest protection laws in Argentina

Daniel Lema () and P. Egolf

No 275984, 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia from International Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: This paper evaluates the potential impact of the recently enacted forest protection laws on the number of forest fires in Argentina. The forest protection laws (at a federal and provincial level) restricts the use of forestry land in several ways, and limit the expansion of the agricultural frontier. This restriction can make forest arson potentially profitable to clear land and to expand the agricultural frontier circumventing the laws. We present a conceptual model based in the economic theory of crime to analyze forest arson decisions, and to predict individual behavior. Using panel data from 2002 to 2014 at a provincial level we present empirical evidence of systematic effects in the occurrence of forest fire as a function of the new regulation and its sequential implementation. Fixed effects and difference-in-differences estimates show that the number of fires increased transitory some 100% -200% in the main crop producer provinces during the law implementation process (2009-2011).

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban Development; International Development; Land Economics/Use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-env and nep-law
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:iaae18:275984

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.275984

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