Séminaire NANCY – Julien Wolfersberger (UMR Economie Publique)

Détails de l'événement :

“Roads, Development and Deforestation”

Abstract

We build a quantitative spatial model to study the impact of changes in transportation infrastructures on spatial development and deforestation in Brazil. We examine how new roads (or the modernization of existing ones) change the spatial equilibrium of agriculture, modify market access and cause deforestation. For this purpose, we develop a novel data-set combining agricultural census data and satellite-data on both forest cover and road networks. Our results show how decreasing trade frictions within a country may lead to economic gains but may also weaken natural resource conservation. We highlight the general equilibrium effects of this trade-off and examine several important outcomes related to structural transformation.