Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8572-4002

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Division of Resource Economics & Management

Committee Chair

Levan Elbakidze

Committee Co-Chair

Suhyun Jung

Committee Member

Alan Collins

Committee Member

Kolawole Ogundari

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays exploring the externalities that arise from energy production and development in a developing country, Nigeria, and agricultural production in a developed nation, the United States (US). The research examines the benefits of energy development in terms of its impact on local wealth and the associated costs, including the health effects on communities living near energy production sites. Additionally, the dissertation analyzes the opportunity costs of policies aimed at preventing the relocation of nutrients, particularly nitrogen fertilizers, within the agricultural sector and their impact on the producer and consumer surplus.

The first essay examines the impacts of power plants on nearby residents’ well-being using six rounds of Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) and comprehensive power plant operations data in Nigeria. I find that households within 10 km of operational power plants have gained a higher asset-based wealth score index by 0.20-2.71 than those located 10-20 km away. These wealth increases are most pronounced for households near larger-capacity plants and those with members in manual labor and sales/services occupations, likely driven by heightened demand during power plants' construction and operational phases. Additionally, the likelihood of electricity access increases with power plant operations. The results highlight the potential role of increased economic opportunities and electricity access in driving wealth gains through power plant construction and operations and offer policy insights into aligning economic advancement initiatives with the national electricity development plan for Nigeria and other developing countries.

In the second essay, the dissertation addresses the rare quantitative evidence of the negative externalities of power plants in developing countries by analyzing their impact on infant and child mortality using NDHS data and detailed power plant operation records. Infants born within a 5-25 km radius of active power plants experience approximately 0.027 more deaths during their first month than those born before power plants became operational or near non-operational power plants. Pollutants generated by non-renewables are likely the cause as the mortality rates are more significant by 0.010 for those near power plants fueled by non-renewable energy sources. In contrast, the impact of renewable energy-fueled power plants is insignificant. These results further justify electricity generation by renewable energy sources in addressing Nigeria and other developing countries’ pressing energy deficits with health and carbon-related benefits.

Finally, the third essay investigates the interdependence of nutrient runoff from agricultural production in three major US watersheds. It quantifies Nitrogen loading leakage across these watersheds using an integrated assessment model (IAM), which combines economic partial equilibrium commodity market formulation, spatial land use representation, and a process-based Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). I also assess consumer and producer surplus losses from decreased commodity supply and higher prices when nutrient delivery to select coastal ecosystems is restricted. Reducing agricultural N loading in the Gulf of Mexico by 45% (a) increases loading in the Chesapeake Bay and Western Lake Erie by 4.2% and 5.5%, respectively, and (b) results in annual surplus losses of $7.1 and $6.95 billion with and without restrictions on leakage to the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie, respectively.

Download

Share

COinS