nep-lam 2026-10-26 papers

on Central and South America

Issue of 2026–10–26
two papers chosen by
Maximo Rossi, Universidad de la RepÃÃººblica

Single large or several small? Willingness to pay for conservation in the Río de la Plata grasslands By Marcelo Caffera; Felipe Vásquez Lavín
Elected Neighbors and the Supply of Future Politicians By Julio Cáceres-Delpiano; Matilde Pinto Machado

Single large or several small? Willingness to pay for conservation in the Río de la Plata grasslands

By:	Marcelo Caffera; Felipe Vásquez Lavín
Abstract:	We use a contingent valuation survey to estimate Uruguayan households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) program targeting 320, 571 hectares of natural grassland in the Río de la Plata region, combining a national in-person probability sample (n=400) with a larger online non-probability sample (n=2, 994). In both samples respondents answer a referendum-style payment question with an assigned price. Within the online sample we vary the spatial configuration of the protected area and the payment horizon (one, five, or ten years). In the former, respondents were randomly assigned to two large zones versus fourteen smaller, dispersed zones covering the same total hectares, bringing the ecological Single Large or Several Small (SLOSS) debate into stated-preference valuation for the first time. Across the full sample we test the sensitivity of WTP estimates to respondents’ self-reported certainty. The median household is willing to pay UYU 371.70 (USD 9) per month in the in-person probability sample. We find no statistically detectable difference in median WTP between the two spatial configurations, across payment horizons, or between the in-person and online samples. The in-person/online comparison confounds sampling design with survey mode, and the horizon tests rest on subsamples of 431–544, so those two nulls are not evidence of equivalence. WTP estimates remain stable under moderate certainty corrections but weaken under more aggressive recoding. These findings point to substantial public support for financing grassland conservation, but limited sensitivity of stated preferences to spatial and temporal design features that were not explained to respondents.
Keywords:	Contingent valuation; Biodiversity; SLOSS; Habitat fragmentation; Payment for ecosystem services; Uruguay
Date:	2026
URL:	https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnt:wpaper:2601

Elected Neighbors and the Supply of Future Politicians

By:	Julio Cáceres-Delpiano; Matilde Pinto Machado
Abstract:	Using precise data on the residences of municipal election candidates in Chile and regression- discontinuity design based on close elections, we estimate the causal effect of electing a candidate on the emergence of future candidacies within a very narrow radius of their home. We find that the election of a neighbor increases the emergence of candidates from the same neighborhood. We then examine whether these candidacies translate into electoral success and generate persistence in the geographic composition of councils. We find evidence of such persistence, driven by incumbent re-election and concentrated in neighborhoods where elected candidates are pivotal in the council or not politically aligned with the mayor. These dynamics imply that local political processes may perpetuate, rather than alleviate, spatial inequalities within municipalities.
Date:	2026
URL:	https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notnic:2026-10

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