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Agricultural Fires and Infant Health

Author

Listed:
  • Marcos A. Rangel
  • Tom Vogl
Abstract
Fire has long served as a tool in agriculture, but this practice's human capital consequences have proved difficult to study. Drawing on data from satellites, air monitors, and vital records, we study how smoke from sugarcane harvest fires affects infant health in the Brazilian state that produces one-fifth of the world's sugarcane. Because fires track economic activity, we exploit wind for identification, finding that late-pregnancy exposure to upwind fires decreases birth weight, gestational length, and in utero survival, but not early neonatal survival. Other fires positively predict health, highlighting the importance of disentangling pollution from economic activities that drive it.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcos A. Rangel & Tom Vogl, 2016. "Agricultural Fires and Infant Health," NBER Working Papers 22955, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22955
    Note: CH DEV EEE EH
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    Cited by:

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    2. Francis Rathinam & Sayak Khatua & Zeba Siddiqui & Manya Malik & Pallavi Duggal & Samantha Watson & Xavier Vollenweider, 2021. "Using big data for evaluating development outcomes: A systematic map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), September.
    3. Maria Rosales-Rueda & Margaret Triyana, 2019. "The Persistent Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Air Pollution: Evidence from the Indonesian Forest Fires," Working Papers Rutgers University, Newark 2019-002, Department of Economics, Rutgers University, Newark.
    4. Walker Hanlon, 2018. "London fog: A century of pollution and mortality, 1866-1965," Working Papers 18019, Economic History Society.
    5. Datt, Gaurav & Maitra, Pushkar & Menon, Nidhiya & Ray, Ranjan & Dey, Sagnik & Chowdhury, Sourangsu, 2020. "Impact of Pollution from Coal on the Anemic Status of Children and Women: Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 13522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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