Much of the population in developing countries uses firewood for cooking. The resulting indoor air pollution has severe health consequences for children who are close to the fire while their mothers cook. We use survey data from Guatemala to examine the effects of firewood consumption on the...

We explore the characteristics of Pareto-optimal allocations in the context of local public goods or clubs. A set of first-order conditions for Pareto optimality is provided. Classical treatments apparently neglect an important term related to migrant compensation, and thus are incorrect. A...

Firewood remains a key source of energy for households in developing countries, contributing to forest degradation and deforestation. The adoption of alternative fuels may be hindered by high startup costs, and this problem may be compounded by restrictions in credit availability. We use survey...

This dissertation consists of three essays. In the first, we address the coordination problem that individuals face when deciding whether to pay a membership fee and join an association that provides a pure public good as well as selective benefits to its members, when the ability of the...