Embedded Files
-Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Intensification: Evidence from Brazil's Double-cropping Boom. (with Jeddi, B.). Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
-Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Intensification: Evidence from Brazil's Double-cropping Boom. (with Jeddi, B.). Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
This article investigates the environmental impacts of Brazil's agricultural intensification, particularly the expansion of soy-corn double-cropping, which has made Brazil the world's top corn exporter. Using econometric models, we find that double-cropping slightly reduces pesticide runoff by limiting chemical leaching as a cover crop. However, its impact on land-use change varies regionally: in established agricultural zones, it minimally influences cropland expansion, but in frontier areas with fewer land-conversion barriers, it significantly drives expansion. Notably, 44% of cropland growth in frontier regions is attributed to double-cropping, highlighting the environmental implications of increased second-crop corn production for ethanol. (Link to CARD working paper)
This article investigates the environmental impacts of Brazil's agricultural intensification, particularly the expansion of soy-corn double-cropping, which has made Brazil the world's top corn exporter. Using econometric models, we find that double-cropping slightly reduces pesticide runoff by limiting chemical leaching as a cover crop. However, its impact on land-use change varies regionally: in established agricultural zones, it minimally influences cropland expansion, but in frontier areas with fewer land-conversion barriers, it significantly drives expansion. Notably, 44% of cropland growth in frontier regions is attributed to double-cropping, highlighting the environmental implications of increased second-crop corn production for ethanol. (Link to CARD working paper)
-The Economic Value of a Farmer Network: An Application to Pest Management in Iowa (with Jeddi, B.). Revised and Resubmitted to the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review.
-The Economic Value of a Farmer Network: An Application to Pest Management in Iowa (with Jeddi, B.). Revised and Resubmitted to the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review.
Climate change can increase pest migration and outbreaks by altering pest life cycles and habitats, leading farmers to use more pesticides. This article evaluates the economic benefits of farmer networks for pest management using a social learning model applied to a pilot network in Iowa. Results show significant variation in effectiveness, with networks offering over $600 per acre in value for farmers facing high pest infestation risks due to extreme heat. (Link to CARD working paper)
-Adapting to Disasters: Evidence from Drought in Brazil. (with B. Jeddi and D. Keiser).
-Adapting to Disasters: Evidence from Drought in Brazil. (with B. Jeddi and D. Keiser).
Can societies adapt to more frequent and intense weather disasters? This paper estimates the value and limit of disaster adaptation in Northeast Brazil, a semi-arid region prone to droughts. It examines the effects of drought frequency and reservoir construction on economic and population outcomes. Using a dataset replicating Brazil's river network and monitoring stations, the study identifies the impact of drought frequency and the adaptation value of reservoirs. Findings show that reservoirs significantly offset drought impacts, improving GDP per square kilometer by 27% and population density by 26%. However, the benefits decline to zero at three droughts per decade. Reservoirs support subsistence agriculture, increasing vulnerability but also accelerating rural-urban migration, enhancing resilience.
-Roads, Trade, and Development: Evidence from the Agricultural Boom in Brazil. (with He, X., and W. Zhang).
-Roads, Trade, and Development: Evidence from the Agricultural Boom in Brazil. (with He, X., and W. Zhang).
This study examines how trade liberalization affects the impact of road infrastructure on economic development in Brazil. Using a triple-differences framework and instrumental variables, it finds that road expansion post-trade reform increases population and GDP per capita in high soybean potential areas. Additionally, road expansion boosts soybean harvested area and yield in these regions, highlighting the role of export-led agricultural growth in economic development.
-Technology Adoption and the Agricultural Supply Response Function
-Technology Adoption and the Agricultural Supply Response Function
This study examines the impact of technology diffusion, specifically genetically modified and nitrogen-fixing soy, on agricultural supply in Brazil. Using data from 1.5 million farms, it estimates price effects on soy acreage expansion from the 1996 and 2006 agricultural censuses. Findings show that acreage response functions are more elastic near the agricultural frontier due to technological diffusion. The adoption of nitrogen-fixing soy, which converts marginal savanna pastureland to soy production, largely explains this heterogeneity. The long-run price elasticity of soy acreage is 0.6 in the south and 1.8 in the savanna. Near the savanna-Amazon border, a 10% permanent increase in soy prices could convert 1 million hectares of natural vegetation to farmland.
-Relational Contracts and Innovation: Evidence from the Double-cropping Boom in Brazil
-Relational Contracts and Innovation: Evidence from the Double-cropping Boom in Brazil
Technological advances in the 1970s and 1980s enabled soybean cultivation in the Brazilian Savanna, but regional constraints limited adoption. Post-macroeconomic reforms, international traders introduced contracts bundling technology, finance, inputs, and market access. Analysis of farm-level data shows these contracts led to rapid technological diffusion, agricultural expansion, and a 10-fold increase in productivity by converting marginal land to soybean plantations.
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