Decentralization and Pollution Spillovers: Evidence from the Re-drawing of County Borders in Brazil*

نویسندگان

  • Molly Lipscomb
  • Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
چکیده

Decentralization can improve service delivery, but it can also generate externalities across jurisdictional boundaries. We examine the nature and size of water pollution externalities as rivers flow across jurisdictions. Panel data on water pollution in Brazilian rivers coupled with county splits that change the locations of borders allow us to identify the spatial patterns of pollution as rivers approach and cross borders, controlling for fixed effects and trends specific to each location. The theory of externalities predicts that pollution should increase at an increasing rate as the river approaches the downstream exit border, that there should be a structural break in the slope of the pollution function at the border, and that a larger number of managing jurisdictions should exacerbate pollution externalities. We find support for all four predictions in the data. Satellite data on growth in night-time lights along rivers shows that local authorities allow more settlements to develop close to rivers in the downstream portions of counties, which is the likely underlying mechanism. The border effects on pollution are not as pronounced when the cost of interjurisdictional coordination is lower. JEL Codes: Q56, D62, H23, Q53, O12

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منابع مشابه

Decentralization and Water Quality: Evidence from the Re-drawing of County Boundaries in Brazil by Molly Lipscomb and Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak :: NEUDC 2007 Papers :: Northeast Universities Development Consortium Conference :: Center for International Devel

We examine the effect of political decentralization on pollution spillovers across jurisdictional boundaries. Upstream water use has spillover effects on downstream jurisdictions, and greater decentralization (i.e. a larger number of political jurisdictions managing the same river) may exacerbate these spillovers, as upstream communities have fewer incentives to restrain their members from poll...

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تاریخ انتشار 2015