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The Environmental Impact of Poverty: Evidence from Firewood Collection in Rural Nepal

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  • Jean-Marie Baland
  • Pranab Bardhan
  • Sanghamitra Das
  • Dilip Mookherjee
  • Rinki Sarkar

Abstract

We investigate determinants of household firewood collection in rural Nepal, using 1995-96 and 2002-3 World Bank Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) data. We incorporate village fixed effects, endogenous censoring, measurement error in living standards and heterogeneous effects of different household assets. We find no evidence in favor of the poverty-environment hypothesis. The evidence for the environmental Kuznets curve depends on the precise measure of living standards and time period studied. Firewood collections fall with a transition to modern occupations and rise with increasing population and household division. The local interhousehold collection externality is negligible, indicating that policy interventions are justified only by ecological considerations or nonlocal spillovers. (c) 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved..

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Economic Development and Cultural Change.

Volume (Year): 59 (2010)
Issue (Month): 1 (October)
Pages: 23-61

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Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:59:y:2010:i:1:p:23-61

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  1. Baland, Jean-Marie & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2000. "Halting Degradation of Natural Resources: Is There a Role for Rural Communities?," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198290612, September.
  2. Shubham Chaudhuri & Alexander S.P. Pfaff, 2002. "Economic growth and the environment: What can we learn from household data?," Discussion Papers 0102-51, Columbia University, Department of Economics.
  3. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2003. "Economic Growth And The Rise Of Forests," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 118(2), pages 601-637, May.
  4. Dayton-Johnson, Jeff & Bardhan, Pranab, 1996. "Inequality and Conservation on the Local Commons: A Theoretical Exercise," Center for International and Development Economics Research, Working Paper Series qt7f9913w9, Center for International and Development Economics Research, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
  5. Lele, Sharachchandra M., 1991. "Sustainable development: A critical review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 607-621, June.
  6. Ekaterini Kyriazidou, 1997. "Estimation of a Panel Data Sample Selection Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(6), pages 1335-1364, November.
  7. Duraiappah, Anantha K., 1998. "Poverty and environmental degradation: A review and analysis of the nexus," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(12), pages 2169-2179, December.
  8. Bluffstone Randall A., 1995. "The Effect of Labor Market Performance on Deforestation in Developing Countries under Open Access: An Example from Rural Nepal," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 42-63, July.
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Cited by:
  1. Jean-Marie Baland & Pranab Bardhan & Sanghamitra Das & Dilip Mookherjee, 2008. "Forests to the People: Decentralization and Forest Degradation in the Indian Himalayas," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-169, Boston University - Department of Economics.
  2. Jean-Marie Baland & Pranab Bardhan & Sangharmitra Das & Dilip Mookherjee, 2009. "Forest Degradation in the Himalayas: Determinants and Policy Options," Working Papers 1002, University of Namur, Department of Economics.
  3. Sylvie Démurger & Martin Fournier, 2011. "Poverty and firewood consumption : A case study of rural households in northern China," Post-Print halshs-00522660, HAL.

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