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Local Effects of Payments for Environmental Services on Poverty

Author

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  • Robalino, Juan
  • Sandoval, Catalina
  • Villalobos, Laura
  • Alpizar, Francisco

Abstract

We estimate local effects of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs on poverty in Costa Rica between 2007 and 2009. Using household surveys and spatial geographic data, we are able to control for socioeconomic and geographic characteristics at the individual and census tract level. We find that the effects are insignificant at a national level. However, this reflects countervailing forces. We find that PES coverage increases poverty in low-slope places and decreases poverty in high-slope places. These results are robust to demographic characteristics of the individuals. However, the magnitudes of the impacts are very low, even when they are statistically significant. We conclude that the PES program has not increased or decreased poverty substantially in Costa Rica. Policymakers could increase the impact on poverty by focusing their efforts in low-slope areas; however, as others have shown, such a focus could also reduce the impact on avoided deforestation.

Suggested Citation

  • Robalino, Juan & Sandoval, Catalina & Villalobos, Laura & Alpizar, Francisco, "undated". "Local Effects of Payments for Environmental Services on Poverty," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-12-efd, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-12-efd
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    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/EfD-DP-14-12.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Engel, Stefanie & Pagiola, Stefano & Wunder, Sven, 2008. "Designing payments for environmental services in theory and practice: An overview of the issues," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 663-674, May.
    2. Robalino, Juan A., 2007. "Land conservation policies and income distribution: who bears the burden of our environmental efforts?," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 521-533, August.
    3. Paulo A.L.D. Nunes & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2003. "The Ecological Economics of Biodiversity," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2993.
    4. Sierra, Rodrigo & Russman, Eric, 2006. "On the efficiency of environmental service payments: A forest conservation assessment in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 131-141, August.
    5. Alexander Pfaff & Juan Robalino, 2012. "Protecting forests, biodiversity, and the climate: predicting policy impact to improve policy choice," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 164-179, Spring.
    6. Pagiola, Stefano & Arcenas, Agustin & Platais, Gunars, 2005. "Can Payments for Environmental Services Help Reduce Poverty? An Exploration of the Issues and the Evidence to Date from Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 237-253, February.
    7. Pfaff Alexander & Robalino Juan & Sanchez-Azofeifa G. Arturo & Andam Kwaw S & Ferraro Paul J, 2009. "Park Location Affects Forest Protection: Land Characteristics Cause Differences in Park Impacts across Costa Rica," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-26, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M. & Sims, Katharine R.E. & Phaneuf, Daniel J., 2019. "Using referenda to improve targeting and decrease costs of conditional cash transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 179-194.
    2. Gwenolé Le Velly & Céline Dutilly, 2016. "Evaluating Payments for Environmental Services: Methodological Challenges," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    4. Hajjar, Reem & Newton, Peter & Ihalainen, Markus & Agrawal, Arun & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer & Castle, Sarah E. & Erbaugh, James T. & Gabay, Monica & Hughes, Karl & Mawutor, Samuel & Pacheco, Pablo & Scho, 2021. "Levers for alleviating poverty in forests," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    payment for environmental services; poverty; impact evaluation; conservation policies; heterogeneous effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land

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