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Class Year

2023

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Do wildfires have a causal effect on economic development? Using satellite data, I analyze every country's exposure to wildfire exposure from 1982-2018. I use synthetic controls to model the impact of wildfire exposure on GDP per capita having controlled for population density, trade, agriculture, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and polity score. I find that the impacts of wildfires are fairly localized, impacting parts of Africa that both experience high numbers of wildfires and are developing.

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