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Forest Protection and Human Health: The Case of Malaria in the Brazilian Amazon

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  • Luiza M Karpavicius
  • Ariaster Chimeli

Abstract

Ecosystem degradation and contact with wildlife is often linked to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and malaria, a major cause of death and incapacitation worldwide. This paper investigates a quasi-experiment involving two forest protection policies for the Brazilian Amazon region and their consequences to malaria incidence. The first inadvertently increased forest degradation in part of the Amazon, whereas the second curbed deforestation in the entire region. Using actual malaria case data distributed across space and over 17 years, we estimate the causal link between deforestation and malaria. The results imply that effective forest protection reduced malaria incidence by over 50%.

Suggested Citation

  • Luiza M Karpavicius & Ariaster Chimeli, 2023. "Forest Protection and Human Health: The Case of Malaria in the Brazilian Amazon," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2023_08, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP), revised 26 Jul 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:spa:wpaper:2023wpecon8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Malaria; Deforestation; Forest Protection Policies; Brazil;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • 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
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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