Mitigating agricultural fires with carrot or stick? Evidence from China

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cao, Jing; Ma, Rong
• 署名单位: Tsinghua University; Tsinghua University; China Agricultural University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103173
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: Agricultural fire; Environmental externality; Straw burning; Biomass power plant

摘要

This paper examines the effects of biomass power plants (BPPs) on farmers' use of agricultural fires for land clearance in China from 2001 to 2019. We show that the entry of BPPs leads to a significant reduction of agricultural fires by 14%. Farmers near BPPs display stronger responses, leading to a more significant reduction in straw burning, especially during high agricultural fire seasons. The notable decline in agricultural fires is likely driven by economic incentives provided by BPPs to farmers for collecting crop straw from their land. Additionally, straw-burning bans have limited effectiveness in reducing total agricultural fires, but they appear to reduce straw burning during nighttime, when the monitoring of agricultural fires is easier. We also provide evidence that local air quality has markedly improved, resulting in substantial health benefits that surpass the social benefits of reducing carbon emissions.