IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v152y2021ics0304387821000602.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Refugee camps and deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Salemi, Colette

Abstract

To date, there have been few quasi-experimental efforts to evaluate the impact of refugee camps on host landscapes. Yet many stakeholders believe refugee camps lead to deforestation in nearby areas. I use data on camp locations and years of operation as well as secondary geospatial data to produce a high-resolution panel dataset of 0.01° tiles. My difference-in-difference specification with tile fixed effects exploits variation in camp openings and tile proximity to camps. F-tests on event study pre-trends provide support for the satisfaction of parallel trends prior to camp exposure. I find that within the rainforest biome, camps are associated with a small reduction in extensive margin forest loss (i.e., land clearing) and a small increase in intensive margin forest loss (i.e., gradual reductions in canopy cover). In the grasslands biome, camps lead to small increases in forest loss at the intensive margin but have no impact on the extensive margin.

Suggested Citation

  • Salemi, Colette, 2021. "Refugee camps and deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:152:y:2021:i:c:s0304387821000602
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102682
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387821000602
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102682?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bošković, Branko & Chakravorty, Ujjayant & Pelli, Martino & Risch, Anna, 2023. "The effect of forest access on the market for fuelwood in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2015. "The Labor Market Impacts of Forced Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 581-586, May.
    3. Simon Freyaldenhoven & Christian Hansen & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2019. "Pre-event Trends in the Panel Event-Study Design," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3307-3338, September.
    4. Verme, Paolo & Schuettler, Kirsten, 2021. "The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    5. Jean-François Maystadt & Gilles Duranton, 2019. "The development push of refugees: evidence from Tanzania," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 299-334.
    6. Baez, Javier E., 2011. "Civil wars beyond their borders: The human capital and health consequences of hosting refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 391-408, November.
    7. Daniela A. Miteva & Randall A. Kramer & Zachary S. Brown & Martin D. Smith, 2017. "Spatial Patterns of Market Participation and Resource Extraction: Fuelwood Collection in Northern Uganda," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1008-1026.
    8. Jennifer Alix-Garcia & Craig McIntosh & Katharine R. E. Sims & Jarrod R. Welch, 2013. "The Ecological Footprint of Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Mexico's Oportunidades Program," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 417-435, May.
    9. Jennifer M. Alix-Garcia & Katharine R. E. Sims & Patricia Yañez-Pagans, 2015. "Only One Tree from Each Seed? Environmental Effectiveness and Poverty Alleviation in Mexico's Payments for Ecosystem Services Program," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 1-40, November.
    10. Jean-François Maystadt & Philip Verwimp, 2014. "Winners and Losers among a Refugee-Hosting Population," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(4), pages 769-809.
    11. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    12. Scrieciu, S. Serban, 2007. "Can economic causes of tropical deforestation be identified at a global level?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 603-612, May.
    13. Jean-François Maystadt & Kalle Hirvonen & Athur Mabiso & Joachim Vandercasteelen, 2019. "Impacts of Hosting Forced Migrants in Poor Countries," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 439-459, October.
    14. Anti, Sebastian & Salemi, Colette, 2021. "Hungry hosts? Refugee camps and host community nutritional outcomes in subSaharan Africa," Miscellaneous Publications 316035, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    15. Albers, H.J. & Robinson, E.J.Z., 2013. "A review of the spatial economics of non-timber forest product extraction: Implications for policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 87-95.
    16. Verwimp,Philip & Maystadt,Jean-Francois Paul Claude, 2015. "Forced displacement and refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa : an economic inquiry," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7517, The World Bank.
    17. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2016. "The labour market consequences of hosting refugees," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 667-694.
    18. Abman, Ryan, 2018. "Rule of Law and Avoided Deforestation from Protected Areas," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 282-289.
    19. Cropper, Maureen & Griffiths, Charles, 1994. "The Interaction of Population Growth and Environmental Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 250-254, May.
    20. Alix-Garcia, Jennifer & Walker, Sarah & Bartlett, Anne & Onder, Harun & Sanghi, Apurva, 2018. "Do refugee camps help or hurt hosts? The case of Kakuma, Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 66-83.
    21. Julia Berazneva & Tanya S. Byker, 2017. "Does Forest Loss Increase Human Disease? Evidence from Nigeria," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 516-521, May.
    22. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2003. "Economic Growth and the Rise of Forests," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 601-637.
    23. Jennifer Alix-Garcia & Anne Bartlett & David Saah, 2013. "The landscape of conflict: IDPs, aid and land-use change in Darfur," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 589-617, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Palsson, Craig, 2023. "The forces of path dependence: Haiti's refugee camps, 1937–2009," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Ignaciuk, Adriana & Kwon, Jihae & Maggio, Giuseppe & Mastrorillo, Marina & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2023. "Harvesting trees to harvest cash crops: The role of migrants in forest land conversion in Uganda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    3. Ray, Manojit & Chakraborty, Basab, 2022. "Impact of demand flexibility and tiered resilience on solar photovoltaic adoption in humanitarian settlements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 895-912.
    4. Angham Daiyoub & Pere Gelabert & Sandra Saura-Mas & Cristina Vega-Garcia, 2023. "War and Deforestation: Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning to Identify the War-Induced Deforestation in Syria 2010–2019," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bertinelli,Luisito & Comertpay,Rana & Maystadt,Jean-François, 2022. "Refugees, Diversity and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10052, The World Bank.
    2. Aysun Aygun & Murat Guray Kirdar & Berna Tuncay, 2020. "The Effect of Hosting 3.4 Million Refugees on the Health System in Turkey and Infant, Child, and Elderly Mortality among Natives," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2014, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    3. Verme, Paolo & Schuettler, Kirsten, 2021. "The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Aygün, Aysun & Güray Kırdar, Murat & Tuncay, Berna, 2021. "The effect of hosting 3.4 million refugees on native population mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas‐Silva, 2018. "The impact of hosting refugees on the intra‐household allocation of tasks: A gender perspective," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1461-1488, November.
    6. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas‐Silva, 2018. "The impact of hosting refugees on the intra‐household allocation of tasks: A gender perspective," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1461-1488, November.
    7. Kadigo, Mark Marvin & Maystadt, Jean-Francois, 2023. "How to cope with a refugee population? Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Betts, Alexander & Flinder Stierna, Maria & Omata, Naohiko & Sterck, Olivier, 2023. "Refugees welcome? Inter-group interaction and host community attitude formation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    9. Betts,Alexander Milton Stedman & Stierna,Maria Flinder & Omata,Naohiko & Sterck,Olivier Christian Brigitte, 2022. "Social Cohesion and Refugee-Host Interactions : Evidence from East Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9917, The World Bank.
    10. Marco d’Errico & Rama Dasi Mariani & Rebecca Pietrelli & Furio Camillo Rosati, 2022. "Refugee-Host Proximity and Market Creation in Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(2), pages 213-233, February.
    11. Nsababera, Olive, 2020. "Refugee camps – A lasting legacy? Evidence on long-term health impact," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    12. Çakır, Selcen & Erbay, Elif & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2021. "Syrian Refugees and Human Capital Accumulation of Native Children in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 14972, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Michael Christian Lehmann, 2023. "Macroeconomic volatility and anti‐refugee violence in developing countries: Evidence from commodity price shocks," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 992-1012, May.
    14. Walelign,Solomon Zena & Wang Sonne,Soazic Elise & Seshan,Ganesh Kumar, 2022. "Livelihood Impacts of Refugees on Host Communities : Evidence from Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10044, The World Bank.
    15. Craig Loschmann & Özge Bilgili & Melissa Siegel, 2019. "Considering the benefits of hosting refugees: evidence of refugee camps influencing local labour market activity and economic welfare in Rwanda," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    16. Drouvelis, Michalis & Malaeb, Bilal & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wahba, Jackline, 2021. "Cooperation in a fragmented society: Experimental evidence on Syrian refugees and natives in Lebanon," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 176-191.
    17. Dampha,Nfamara K & Salemi,Colette & Polasky,Stephen, 2022. "Rohingya Refugee Camps and Forest Loss in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh : An Inquiry Using Remote Sensingand Econometric Approaches," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9948, The World Bank.
    18. Ayenew, Ashenafi Belayneh, 2021. "Welfare Impact of Hosting Refugees in Ethiopia," EconStor Preprints 228519, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    19. Aksu, Ege & Erzan, Refik & Kırdar, Murat Güray, 2022. "The impact of mass migration of Syrians on the Turkish labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Becker, Sascha O. & Ferrara, Andreas, 2019. "Consequences of forced migration: A survey of recent findings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1-16.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; Refugee camps; Forced displacement; Deforestation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q34 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Natural Resources and Domestic and International Conflicts
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:152:y:2021:i:c:s0304387821000602. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.