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

dc.contributor.author Behrer, A. Patrick
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-28T18:14:13Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-28T18:14:13Z
dc.date.issued 2023-03-28
dc.description.abstract This 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.identifier http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f
dc.identifier.uri https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39606
dc.language English
dc.language.iso en
dc.publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseries Policy Researrch Working Papers; 10376
dc.rights CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder World Bank
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subject AIR POLLUTION
dc.subject MAHATMA GHANDI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT
dc.subject POVERTY REDUCTION
dc.subject STRUCTURAL CHANGE
dc.subject AGRICULTURE
dc.subject AGRICULTURAL FIRE
dc.subject MECHANIZED AGRICULTURE
dc.subject RURAL LABOR MARKET SHOCKS
dc.title Man or Machine? en
dc.title.subtitle Environmental Consequences of Wage Driven Mechanization in Indian Agriculture en
dc.type Working Paper
dspace.entity.type Publication
okr.crossref.title Man or Machine?: Environmental Consequences of Wage Driven Mechanization in Indian Agriculture
okr.date.disclosure 2023-03-27
okr.date.lastmodified 2023-03-27T00:00:00Z en
okr.doctype Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctype Publications & Research
okr.docurl http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f
okr.guid 099331103272325045
okr.identifier.doi 10.1596/1813-9450-10376
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum 34029330
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum 34029330
okr.identifier.report WPS10376
okr.import.id 275
okr.imported true en
okr.language.supported en
okr.pdfurl http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099331103272325045/pdf/IDU048f582490193f040690aa5e0f520e1b96a3f.pdf en
okr.region.country India
okr.topic Agriculture :: Climate Change and Agriculture
okr.topic Environment :: Environmental Strategy
okr.topic Environment :: Air Quality & Clean Air
okr.topic Rural Development :: Rural Poverty Reduction Strategies
okr.unit DEC-Sustainability & Infrastruct (DECSI)
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