Crops, Insects, and Diseases: Unintended Consequences of Environmental Policies on Ecosystem and Human Health

Abstract

Environmental policies can unintentionally affect health outcomes through ecological disruption. This paper examines how China's straw-burning ban, implemented to reduce air pollution, inadvertently increased vector-borne diseases by altering insect ecology. Using a staggered difference-indifferences design, we find that the ban raised hospitalizations and medical expenditures for vector-borne diseases by 111% and 92%, resulting in $186 million annually. Mechanism analyses reveal that the ban reduced cropland fires, increased insect populations, and triggered surges in online searches related to insect awareness and pest control. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating ecological and related health considerations in environmental policy design.

Keywords: Ecosystem disruptions, Vector-borne diseases, Straw-burning ban, Insect ecology, Agricultural fires JEL Classification: Q57, Q51, Q10, Q50