• norsk
    • English
  • English 
    • norsk
    • English
  • Login
View Item 
  •   Home
  • Norges Handelshøyskole
  • Thesis
  • Master Thesis
  • View Item
  •   Home
  • Norges Handelshøyskole
  • Thesis
  • Master Thesis
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Poverty alleviation and deforestation in Brazil: empirical evidence from the Bolsa Escola/familia program : a difference-in-difference analysis of how increased income affects deforestation in brazilian municipalities

Rønningstad, Sara Helene; Jelsness, Tone Sylvia
Master thesis
Thumbnail
View/Open
masterthesis.pdf (1.590Mb)
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2680803
Date
2020
Metadata
Show full item record
Collections
  • Master Thesis [3258]
Abstract
In this thesis we estimate the effect of poverty alleviation on local deforestation in Brazil. We

identify impacts of increased income among low-income families by studying the world’s

largest conditional cash transfer program, Bolsa Escola/Familia. We use municipality-level

panel data on deforestation and program beneficiaries for the first years of the program (2001-

2004). Through a difference-in-difference approach we estimate the average treatment effect

on the treated (ATT). The results show that deforestation fell by 7,6% in municipalities with

many beneficiaries, amounting to an estimated 1 million hectares of preserved forest in these

locations. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggest that these benefits are valued at

approximately USD 4 650 million over these four years, which is almost three times the

program costs. Furthermore, we estimate that increasing the share of beneficiary families by

10% on average leads to a reduction in deforestation by 1,7%. These findings suggest that the

Bolsa program have reduced the local pressure on forests by providing low-income Brazilian

families with greater financial stability. The thesis thus contributes to existing literature by

providing new empirical evidence that poverty alleviation can be beneficial for the

environment.

Contact Us | Send Feedback

Privacy policy
DSpace software copyright © 2002-2019  DuraSpace

Service from  Unit
 

 

Browse

ArchiveCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDocument TypesJournalsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDocument TypesJournals

My Account

Login

Statistics

View Usage Statistics

Contact Us | Send Feedback

Privacy policy
DSpace software copyright © 2002-2019  DuraSpace

Service from  Unit