A critical issue in the design of incentive mechanisms is the choice of whom to target. For forests, the leading schemes: [i] target locations with high ecosystem-service density; [ii] target…

We offer a nationwide analysis of the initial years of Costa Rica’s PSA program, which pioneered environmental-services payments and inspired similar initiatives. Our estimates of this program’s…

According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in developing countries. Yet we know little about tourism operators’ economic incentives to get certified. To help…

Eco-certification can generate private benefits for tourism operators in developing countries and therefore has the potential to improve their environmental performance. Tourism associated with…

Our findings provide some of the first evidence that eco-certification can generate private benefits for tourism operators in developing countries and therefore has the potential to improve their…

To address simultaneity and the presence of spatially correlated unobservables, we measure for neighbors' deforestation using the slopes of neighbors' and neighbors' neighbors' parcels. We estimate…

We argue for integrating the consideration of location in policy planning in three ways, in order to help to predict policy impacts on deforestation and, thereby, improve policy choices. Policies must…

The Costa Rican experience: extreme weather events partially explain permanent internal migration as an adaptive measure. A new body of evidence has emerged suggesting that climate is increasing…

Reduced emissions due to Reduced Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an innovative instrument that entitles developing countries to preserve forests that otherwise would have been cleared…

Using household surveys with highly disaggregated geographic reference, the authors explored how national parks affect local wages in Costa Rica and how effects on local welfare can be positive or…