Data and code for: The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence From The Decline of Vultures in India

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Eyal G. Frank, University of Chicago. Harris School of Public Policy; Anant Sudarshan, University of Warwick: Department of Economics

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Data and code for: The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence From The Decline of Vultures in India		0

Project Citation:

Frank, Eyal G., and Sudarshan, Anant. Data and code for: The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence From The Decline of Vultures in India. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-08-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/E196461V1

Project Description

Summary: Scientific evidence has documented that we are undergoing a mass extinction of species, caused by human activity. However, allocating conservation resources is difficult due to scarce evidence on damages from losing individual species. This paper studies the collapse of vultures in India, triggered by the expiry of a patent on a painkiller. Our results suggest the functional extinction of vultures—efficient scavengers who removed carcasses from the environment—increased human mortality by over 4% because of a large negative shock to sanitation. We quantify damages at $69.4 billion per year. These results suggest high returns to conserving keystone species such as vultures.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      I10 Health: General
      Q56 Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
      Q57 Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity Conservation; Bioeconomics; Industrial Ecology

Geographic Coverage: India

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V1 [2024-08-16]

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