The Externalities of a Deforestation Control Policy in Infant Health: Evidence from Brazil

The burning of forest releases a wide range of contaminants, some of which are known to be hazardous for health. Traditional estimates of the costs of deforestation rarely incorporate the health effects of pollution generated by deforestation. This paper provides the first estimates of the local externalities of deforestation in infant health. Our approach exploits a conservation policy that generated a sharp drop in deforestation across municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. The core findings are that deforestation control policy led to reductions in the incidence of very low birth weight and extreme prematurity, especially for boys. Collectively, these findings provide additional justification for controlling deforestation.