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The unintended impacts of agricultural fires: Human capital in China

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  • Graff Zivin, Joshua
  • Liu, Tong
  • Song, Yingquan
  • Tang, Qu
  • Zhang, Peng

Abstract

The practice of burning agricultural waste is ubiquitous around the world, yet the external human capital costs from those fires have been underexplored. Using data from the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) and agricultural fires in China from 2005 to 2011, this paper investigates the impacts of fires on cognitive performance. We find that a one-standard-deviation increase in the difference between upwind and downwind fires during the exam decreases the total exam score by 1.42 percent of a standard deviation (or 0.6 points), and further decreases the probability of getting into first-tier universities by 0.51 percent of a standard deviation.

Suggested Citation

  • Graff Zivin, Joshua & Liu, Tong & Song, Yingquan & Tang, Qu & Zhang, Peng, 2020. "The unintended impacts of agricultural fires: Human capital in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820301358
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102560
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cognitive performance; Human capital; Agricultural fire; Air pollution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

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