Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment

Bangladesh’s brick kiln industry plays a critical role in supplying construction materials for rapid urbanization. However, the sector remains largely informal and weakly regulated, with widespread extraction of fertile topsoil and substantial emissions of particulate matter and black carbon. These...

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Autores principales: Mahzab, Moogdho, Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab, Mattsson, Martin, Anowar, Md Sadat
Formato: Brief
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179197
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author Mahzab, Moogdho
Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Mattsson, Martin
Anowar, Md Sadat
author_browse Anowar, Md Sadat
Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Mahzab, Moogdho
Mattsson, Martin
author_facet Mahzab, Moogdho
Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Mattsson, Martin
Anowar, Md Sadat
author_sort Mahzab, Moogdho
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Bangladesh’s brick kiln industry plays a critical role in supplying construction materials for rapid urbanization. However, the sector remains largely informal and weakly regulated, with widespread extraction of fertile topsoil and substantial emissions of particulate matter and black carbon. These practices raise growing concerns about long-term environmental degradation, agricultural productivity, and food security. This policy brief summarizes new national-scale evidence on the impacts of brick kiln expansion on agricultural productivity in Bangladesh. Using satellite-based vegetation data covering more than two decades and a newly constructed geospatial inventory of brick kilns, the study provides causal estimates of how kiln establishment affects vegetation health and crop productivity over time.
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publishDate 2025
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spelling CGSpace1791972025-12-23T02:11:46Z Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment Mahzab, Moogdho Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab Mattsson, Martin Anowar, Md Sadat drying kilns bricks agricultural productivity satellites data satellite imagery Bangladesh’s brick kiln industry plays a critical role in supplying construction materials for rapid urbanization. However, the sector remains largely informal and weakly regulated, with widespread extraction of fertile topsoil and substantial emissions of particulate matter and black carbon. These practices raise growing concerns about long-term environmental degradation, agricultural productivity, and food security. This policy brief summarizes new national-scale evidence on the impacts of brick kiln expansion on agricultural productivity in Bangladesh. Using satellite-based vegetation data covering more than two decades and a newly constructed geospatial inventory of brick kilns, the study provides causal estimates of how kiln establishment affects vegetation health and crop productivity over time. 2025-12-22 2025-12-22T20:02:30Z 2025-12-22T20:02:30Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179197 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Mahzab, Moogdho; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Mattsson, Martin; and Anowar, Md Sadat. 2025. Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment. FCA Brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179197
spellingShingle drying kilns
bricks
agricultural productivity
satellites
data
satellite imagery
Mahzab, Moogdho
Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Mattsson, Martin
Anowar, Md Sadat
Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title_full Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title_fullStr Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title_full_unstemmed Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title_short Brick kilns and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh: Evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
title_sort brick kilns and agricultural productivity in bangladesh evidence from satellite data and a natural experiment
topic drying kilns
bricks
agricultural productivity
satellites
data
satellite imagery
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179197
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