Radiocarbon ( 14 C) ages of groundwater from several aquifers of the arid Jaisalmer District, Northwestern India (part of the Thar Desert) were investigated to reconstruct the hydrological history of the Thar Desert. The Thar Desert and its surrounding regions have been extensively studied for...

This paper investigates the consequences of a locust plague that occurred in Mali in 2004. We argue that in agricultural economies with a single harvest per year, this type of shock can affect households through two channels: first, a speculative/anticipatory effect that kicks in during the...

Soil is the largest carbon reservoir in terrestrial ecosystems, and minor changes in this reservoir can dramatically affect atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. The fragile ecological environment in the arid zone of northwest China is extremely susceptible to natural and anthropogenic factors,...

Dust significantly influences the radiation budget by absorbing and scattering solar radiation, changing the heating/cooling rates, and reducing radiation incoming to change the atmospheric thermal and dynamics conditions, this subsequently affects the accuracy of weather forecasting itself....

In what are now the warm deserts of the American Southwest, direct effects of changing climate on plant distributions are typically viewed as the principal driver of vegetation changes that followed the late Pleistocene-Holocene transition (LPH). However, at a semi-arid site in the eastern...

The 1930's American Dust Bowl created archetypal "Dust Bowl migrants," refugees from environmental collapse and economic upheaval. I examine this archetype, comparing migration from more-eroded counties and less-eroded counties to distinguish Dust Bowl migrants from other migrants in this era....

This paper investigates the consequences of a locust plague that occurred in Mali in 2004. We argue that in agricultural economies with a single harvest per year, this type of shock can affect households through two channels: first, a speculative/anticipatory effect that kicks in during the...

Are refugees happy living inside a camp? More than half of a Syrian refugees’ sample inside the Zaatari refugee camp believe that their life inside the camp is better than living outside. This paper investigates the determinants behind such a belief. It provides a descriptive picture from life...

The economic effects of global warming have gained considerable attention in recent economic literature. However, the interaction between desertification and agricultural productivity has not received substantial consideration. In this paper, we explore the relationship between soil...

Barren ground and sites with low coverage by vegetation (e.g., dunes, soil surfaces, dry lakes, and riverbeds) are the main source areas of sand and dust storms (SDS). The understanding of causes, processes (abrasion, deflation, transport, deposition), and influencing factors of sandy and dusty...

We examine the effects of human-induced desertification on economic growth by exploiting a 56 km-by-56 km grid-cell global dataset on the annual frequency from 1990-2015. We find that areas that experienced large soil aridification are associated with a reduction in GDP per capita. Our results...

This paper investigates the consequences of a locust plague that occurred in Mali in 2004. We argue that in agricultural economies with a single harvest per year, this type of shock can affect households through two channels: first, a speculative/anticipatory effect that kicks in during the...

We analyze liquidity provision on Kraken, one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges, and compare the results to the foreign exchange (FX) and the stock market, recognizing that Bitcoin has originally been designed as a digital currency and evolved to an investment. In a first step, we...

"Un ouvrage révolutionnaire et captivant qui nous offre une vision audacieuse pour reverdir le Sahara et lutter contre le changement climatique, grâce à la pluie abondante qui se déverse sur cette zone immense. Il pleut autant dans le Sahel qu'en Île-de-France ! Transformer le plus grand...

In this study, we examine the comparative advantage of cooperatives relative to for-profit firms in infrastructure provision. We argue that infrastructure projects generate positive local externalities for the communities in which they are located, and that cooperatives, being able to...

As the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China, the Gurbantünggüt Desert undergoes a long period of snow cover in the winter and the rapid growth of ephemeral plants in the spring, presenting obvious seasonal changes in the underlying desert surface type, which can lead to variation in...

Previous research has shown that people accept inequalities resulting from differences in performance but aim at reducing those resulting from differences in luck, corresponding to the fairness principle of just deserts. But will just deserts also intrinsically prevent people from cheating for...

The 1930's American Dust Bowl created archetypal "Dust Bowl migrants," refugees from environmental collapse and economic upheaval. I examine this archetype, comparing migration from more-eroded counties and less-eroded counties to distinguish Dust Bowl migrants from other migrants in this era....

The 1930’s American Dust Bowl created archetypal “Dust Bowl migrants,” refugees from environmental collapse and economic upheaval. I examine this archetype, comparing migration from more-eroded counties and less-eroded counties to distinguish Dust Bowl migrants from other migrants in this...

Masen and the World Bank have framed the Noor solar energy facilities to be a necessity because of (renewable) energy demand, fossil fuel depletion and global environmental impact. This paper investigates the Noor Ouarzazate solar power projects on their local social costs & benefits and...

Adam and Eve have the same record yet receive different punishment. Adam receives the punishment that they both deserve, whereas Eve receives a more lenient punishment. In this paper, we explore whether a deserved-but-unequal punishment, such as what Adam receives, can be just. We do this by...

To be effective, an army must contain the extent of desertion among its ranks. This phenomenon rose to particular prominence in Europe during the 18th and 19th century, with the appearance of the figure of the ‘citizen-soldier' on the battlefield. This paper offers the first theoretical...

As the year 2022 approaching, Qatar preparations for the FIFA World Cup is in progress. These preparations encompass very complicated processes in many and almost every aspect of life in the state of Qatar. Qatar promised the world with unprecedented, unforgettable, and magical tournament in the...

The third edition of the World Atlas of Desertification (WAD3) takes a fresh look at land degradation - a phenomenon triggered by human land use that is likely to threaten our ability to make productive use of the Earth while still maintaining the critical global environmental goods and services...