Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier - Monthly Publications feed

Deforestation and retail prices of Brazilian beef: a preregistered product-level econometric analysis

2026-10-02 10:58:08

Tereza da Silva Jacqueline, Guye Valentin, de Carvalho Aline Martins, Garcia Andrea, Cammelli Federico, Moran Dominic, de Oliveira Silva Rafael, zu Ermgassen Erasmus
Lancet Planetary Health
à paraître

Background Cattle ranching is the leading proximate driver of deforestation in Brazil. Efforts to eradicate deforestation could incur a trade-off between forest conservation and agricultural production, as conservation constrains the supply of new agricultural land and requires investments in traceability and improved agricultural production, potentially negatively affecting consumer welfare through increased retail prices. We estimated the effect of deforestation on consumer prices using supply chain data for 2980 beef products in Brazil. Methods We investigated the effect of deforestation on retail prices using a regression model with neighbourhood fixed effects and covariates, including sanitary inspection level, product type, distance from meatpacker to retail store, supply chain monitoring, and retail store size. The model was informed by a directed acyclic graph and the analysis plan was preregistered. Findings We found no evidence that deforestation rates in regions where beef products were sourced affected retail price (R$-1

No effect of endowment risk on dictator giving in the lab

2026-10-05 14:34:19

Beaud Mickael, Sun Yujiang, Willinger Marc
Economics Letters 259: 112774
2026

While various models of inequality aversion predict different effects of background risk on giving, empirical evidence remains mixed. This study presents a laboratory experiment using a modified dictator game to examine whether exposure to an additive, zero-mean background risk affecting endowments influences giving behavior. Our results show that such exposure does not significantly affect average donation amounts, the likelihood of giving nothing, or the tendency to split resources equally. These findings are consistent with ex ante inequality concerns under risk neutrality; however, overall, our experimental data do not support the behavioral predictions implied by purely ex post inequality aversion.

When air pollution meets comorbidities: evidence on the causal effect of PM2.5 on COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths

2026-10-02 10:58:06

Morvan Carla, Lepeule Johanna, Lavaine Emmanuelle
International Journal of Epidemiology 55
2026

Abstract Background Despite growing evidence on the health effects of air pollution, few studies have examined its impact on COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, and none have explicitly accounted for preexisting comorbidities in a causal framework. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and COVID-19 severity. We place particular emphasis on the role of comorbidities, which can increase vulnerability to COVID-19 and may interact with air pollution exposure. Methods We use an exhaustive dataset covering the entire French territory over 2020–1, totaling more than 3.5 million weekly observations. The data include information on COVID-19 mortality and hospitalizations, disaggregated by age, sex, and municipality, along with detailed records on preexisting conditions. To address endogeneity, we employ a two-stage least squares approach, using wind direction as an instrument for local PM2.5 concentrations. Results We find no significant effect of PM2.5 exposure on COVID-19 mortality or hospitalizations among individuals without preexisting conditions. However, when accounting for comorbidities, a 10 μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 was associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates (1.5 per 100 000, 95% CI: 0.8–2.2), particularly among patients with respiratory (0.9 per 100 000, 95% CI: 0.4–1.4), and cardiovascular diseases (0.6 per 100 000, 95% CI: 0.1–1.1). Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of incorporating comorbidities when assessing the health effects of air pollution during a pandemic. Our results also show that the effects of PM2.5 are driven by the oldest age groups, who are both more vulnerable to COVID-19 and more likely to have comorbidities.