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  4. May 2021
  5. Cycles of Fire? Politics and Forest Burning in Indonesia

Cycles of Fire? Politics and Forest Burning in Indonesia

  • Clare Balboni
  • Robin Burgess
  • Anton Heil
  • Jonathan Old
  • Benjamin A. Olken
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111, May 2021
(pp. 415-19)
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Abstract

This paper examines the link between electoral incentives and environmental degradation by exploiting a satellite dataset on 107,000 forest fires and 879 asynchronous district elections in Indonesia. Fires represent a cheap but illegal means of converting forested land to other uses, but they risk burning out of control and creating substantial negative environmental externalities. We find a significant electoral cycle in forest fires. Ignitions and area burned decline during election years but steeply increase in the year after. The results suggest that politicians may suppress this activity at times when it might particularly dent their electoral chances.

Citation

Balboni, Clare, Robin Burgess, Anton Heil, Jonathan Old, and Benjamin A. Olken. 2021. "Cycles of Fire? Politics and Forest Burning in Indonesia." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 415-19. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211005

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
  • O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
  • Q23 Renewable Resources and Conservation: Forestry
  • Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
  • O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
  • O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure