This paper explores the environmental consequences of illegal drug production, specifically focusing on the impact of coca prices and cultivation on tree cover density in Peru. Using satellite imagery and granular data on the economic value of coca cultivation, I show that fluctuations in coca...

Population growth with weak economic development can promote tropical deforestation, but government infrastructure investment can also open new frontiers and thus increase deforestation. In the Andean region of South America, population growth has been a leading explanation for both...

How do alternative development programs, designed to diminish the presence of illicit crops, might cause unexpected consequences? This article studies how the announcement about an alternative development program, following the signing of the peace agreement in Colombia, resulted in an increase...