Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists · 2026 · Ricardo Dahis、Ivan de las Heras、Santiago Saavedra
Abstract
While deforestation may yield short-term economic gains, it has lasting impacts on climate change, biodiversity, and water systems. The age of political leaders is a key determinant of how these trade-offs are managed. We study closely contested elections in Brazil and show that when a young politician is in power there is less deforestation (p-value .000), lower greenhouse gas emissions (p-value .061), but higher local income (p-value .023). Results are partly explained by young mayors turning over the bureaucracy with younger public servants (p-value .043).