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Abstract
In spite of its potential health and environmental risks and contribution to agribusiness, the use of
agricultural chemicals for yard care has not been well studied. In our discrete-continuous choice
model, estimated with data from a national survey, a household chooses how much money, if any, to
initially spend on types of agricultural chemicals and applicators and how much time to subsequently
spend on other yard work. Households in big cities or with large gardens are more likely to use
organic chemicals. The probability that a household chooses a mix of do-it-yourself and hired
applications of synthetic chemicals increases with income and the number of minors or presence of
preschoolers. Among households that apply only synthetic chemicals without hired help, those with
young children, with higher incomes, in big cities, and with male heads spend more on the chemicals.
The time that such households spend on other yard work increases with expenditures on the chemicals.
Cancellation of a pesticide registration might create an extra private cost for households with young
children even though the ban might reduce external costs