DETER-ing Deforestation in the Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · 2023 · Juliano Assunção、Clarissa Gandour、Romero Rocha
中文摘要
我们研究巴西近期如何利用卫星技术克服薄弱制度环境所导致的执法不足。DETER是一个处理卫星影像并发布近实时森林砍伐警报的系统，用于在亚马孙地区有针对性地开展环境执法。我们提出一种新颖的工具变量方法，用于估计执法对森林砍伐的影响。云层限制了DETER探测林地清理活动的能力，因而可作为环境主管部门是否在场的外生变异来源。研究结果表明，监测和执法能够有效遏制森林砍伐。该结果在多项稳健性检验中均成立。（JEL K32, K42, O13, Q23, Q28, Q54, Q58）
Abstract
We study Brazil's recent use of satellite technology to overcome law enforcement shortcomings resulting from weak institutional environments. DETER is a system that processes satellite imagery and issues near-real-time deforestation alerts to target environmental enforcement in the Amazon. We propose a novel instrumental variable approach for estimating enforcement's impact on deforestation. Clouds limiting DETER's capacity to detect clearings serve as a source of exogenous variation for the presence of environmental authorities. Findings indicate that monitoring and enforcement effectively curb deforestation. Results hold across several robustness checks. (JEL K32, K42, O13, Q23, Q28, Q54, Q58)