Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282508 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10820
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
The European Union designates 26% of its landmass as a protected area, limiting economic development to favor biodiversity. This paper uses the staggered introduction of protected-area policies between 1985 and 2020 to study the selection of land for protection and the causal effect of protection on vegetation cover and nightlights. Our results reveal protection did not affect the outcomes in any meaningful way across four decades, all countries, protection cohorts, and a wide range of land and climate attributes. We conclude that European conservation efforts lack ambition because policymakers select land for protection not threatened by development.
Subjects: 
land protection
conservation
biodiversity
deforestation
vegetation cover
nightlights
staggered difference-in-differences
JEL: 
Q23
Q24
Q57
R14
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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