Publication:
Man or Machine?: Environmental Consequences of Wage Driven Mechanization in Indian Agriculture

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dc.contributor.authorBehrer, A. Patrick
dc.date.accessioned2023-03-28T18:14:13Z
dc.date.available2023-03-28T18:14:13Z
dc.date.issued2023-03-28
dc.description.abstractThis paper uses an exogenous shock to wages from the world’s largest anti-poverty program to show that higher wages can lead to increased air pollution, likely by inducing farmers to shift into a labor-saving and mechanized production process. Using a difference-in-differences approach on the staggered roll-out of India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), combined with data on nearly 1 million fires, the paper shows that the frequency of agricultural fires increases by 21 percent after the shock. The increase in fires is concentrated in districts that appear more likely to mechanize the harvest. MNREGA did not lead to changes in area planted or tonnage produced in fire intensive crops. The estimates show that nationally, the shock increased the rate of particulate emissions from biomass burning by 30 to 50 percent. The results suggest that absent policies to correct for environmental externalities of mechanization at all stages of development, labor market shocks may lead to inefficient levels of mechanization.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10376
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39606
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Researrch Working Papers; 10376
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectAIR POLLUTION
dc.subjectMAHATMA GHANDI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT
dc.subjectPOVERTY REDUCTION
dc.subjectSTRUCTURAL CHANGE
dc.subjectAGRICULTURE
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL FIRE
dc.subjectMECHANIZED AGRICULTURE
dc.subjectRURAL LABOR MARKET SHOCKS
dc.titleMan or Machine?en
dc.title.subtitleEnvironmental Consequences of Wage Driven Mechanization in Indian Agricultureen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleMan or Machine?: Environmental Consequences of Wage Driven Mechanization in Indian Agriculture
okr.date.disclosure2023-03-27
okr.date.lastmodified2023-03-27T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f
okr.guid099331103272325045
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10376
okr.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10376
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34029330
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34029330
okr.identifier.reportWPS10376
okr.import.id275
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/pdf/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f.pdfen
okr.region.countryIndia
okr.topicAgriculture::Climate Change and Agriculture
okr.topicEnvironment::Environmental Strategy
okr.topicEnvironment::Air Quality & Clean Air
okr.topicRural Development::Rural Poverty Reduction Strategies
okr.unitDEC-Sustainability & Infrastruct (DECSI)
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