Poverty, Environmental Degradation, and Tax Incentives in Goias State, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a statistical relationship between land degradation, poverty, and the PRODUZIR program in the municipalities of Goiás state, Brazil. Based on the understanding of this relationship, knowledge of the factors that may cause and feedback into the cycle of poverty can be gained. Thus, interventions can be proposed to minimize the negative impacts on the environment. The estimated results of the logit model show that the municipalities with a high Gini index have on average a higher probability of having incidence of land degradation compared to other municipalities in the state, i.e., in Goiás state, income inequality suggests greater land degradation. However, municipalities in Goiás that use tax incentives through the PRODUZIR program have on average a lower probability of experiencing land degradation compared to other municipalities that do not use this program.