In southern Nepal, rice straw burning in open fields is common practice. This is problematic because biomass burning contributes to smoke, black carbon and greenhouse gases. While some studies have examined the reasons for burning, few have tried to identify incentives that might stop farmers...

This study examines the marginal productivity of water and other inputs in dry season rice production in Bangladesh. Agriculture is the major water using sector in Bangladesh, but water is in shortsupply during the dry winter months. The study aims to understand how efficiently irrigated water...

Much experimental research has been conducted in laboratory settings on human behavior related to public goods, common-pool resources, and other social dilemmas. These studies have shown that when subjects are anonymous and not allowed to communicate, they tend not to cooperate. However, to the...

This paper analyzes the effect of different types of cook-stoves on firewood demand at the household level. Using nationally representative household survey data from Nepal we find that stove type significantly affects the firewood demand for household uses. Traditional mud stove user households...

Prof. Partha Dasgupta The demand for green national accounts has been prompted by the recognition that contemporary accounts are an unsatisfactory basis for economic evaluation. This paper provides an outline of what would ideally be needed for a comprehensive set of national accounts. National...

This study evaluates the economic feasibility of replacing shifting cultivation (Jhum)with settled agriculture and new soil conservation technology based on an assessment of the farmers' risk and corresponding discount rates in the Khagrachari hill district of Bangladesh. Shifting cultivation...

This paper seeks to understand whether decentralized management of forests can reduce forest loss in developing countries. In South Asia, large-scale experiments in decentralization -- Joint Forest Management in India and community forestry in Nepal, in particular - have changed the relationship...

Most firms that process rubber in Sri Lanka do not comply with national water pollution control standards. This study seeks to estimate a pollution tax that could motivate firms to meet these standards. The authors use data from 62 rubber producing firms in Sri Lanka over three years to estimate...

This study examines household behavior related to fuelwood collection and use. The focus is on identifying the behavioral transition of fuelwood-using households from collection to purchase. The study examines the theory linking households' labor allocation decisions to choice of fuel and models...

Hussain Sagar, a lake constructed in 1562, joins the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in India, and is used for a variety of recreational purposes. Like many lakes in urban India, this lake is threatened by its increasingly polluted waters. In this study, we seek to estimate demand for...