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Unintended consequences of Indian groundwater preservation law on crop residue burning

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  • Agarwala, Meghna
  • Bhattacharjee, Shampa
  • Dasgupta, Aparajita

Abstract

This paper examines the unintended consequences of a policy aimed at improving the groundwater level on crop residue burning in India. The Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 implemented in two Indian states bans the transplantation of paddy before mid-June to preserve groundwater. Theoretically, this leaves a short window of time for clearing the field before the next crop and thus increases the likelihood of farmers adopting time-saving methods like crop residue burning. Using a difference-in-difference framework we find that the ban results in both delay and an increase in crop residue burning in the winter months.

Suggested Citation

  • Agarwala, Meghna & Bhattacharjee, Shampa & Dasgupta, Aparajita, 2022. "Unintended consequences of Indian groundwater preservation law on crop residue burning," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:214:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522000969
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110446
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Balwinder-Singh & Andrew J. McDonald & Amit K. Srivastava & Bruno Gerard, 2019. "Tradeoffs between groundwater conservation and air pollution from agricultural fires in northwest India," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 580-583, July.
    2. 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).
    3. He, Guojun & Liu, Tong & Zhou, Maigeng, 2020. "Straw burning, PM2.5, and death: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    4. Clément Imbert & John Papp, 2015. "Labor Market Effects of Social Programs: Evidence from India's Employment Guarantee," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 233-263, April.
    5. Marcos A. Rangel & Tom S. Vogl, 2019. "Agricultural Fires and Health at Birth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 616-630, October.
    6. Sayre, Susan Stratton & Taraz, Vis, 2019. "Groundwater depletion in India: Social losses from costly well deepening," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 85-100.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crop residue burning; Groundwater; Water policy; Waste management; Air pollution; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • 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
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law

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