Forest Economics, Revised and Expanded Edition

Daowei Zhang is George W. Peake Professor of forest economics and policy and associate dean of research in the College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment at Auburn University in Alabama. He worked at the Ministry of Forestry and China Development Bank and served as a senior forestry officer and team leader for climate change and resilience at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Among his publications are From Backwoods to Boardrooms: The Rise of Institutional Investment in Timberland and The Softwood Lumber War: Politics, Economics, and the Long U.S.-Canadian Trade Dispute. Peter H. Pearse is a professor emerit in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia and is a registered professional forester (retired). He also served as a board member for Alcoa and is a member of the Order of Canada.

• Forewords / Peter Deegen and Michael JacobsonPrefaceConversion FactorsPART 1 – Markets, Government, and Forest Investment Analysis1 Forestry's Economic PerspectiveForestry from an Economic ViewpointBasic Economic Questions Mixed Capitalism and the Role of Government Economic Objectives: Efficiency and Equity Forests as Economic Resources Why Forest Economics? Economic and Financial Decision Making 2 Market Economies and the Government Economic Efficiency and Opportunity Costs The Theory of Production Allocating Inputs Among Alternative Uses An Example Comsumer Theory Supply, Demand, and Price Equilibrium Market Failures and Externalities in Forestry Government Intervention and Policy Failure 3 Forest Investment Analysis and Valuation Time and the Role of Interest Compounding, Discounting, and Present Values Criteria for Investment Decisions Risk and Uncertainty Integrating Economics with Silviculture Valuing Pre-Merchantable Timber Taxes and Social Considerations PART 2 – The Forest Sector: Land Timber, and Non-Timber Forest Values 4 Timber Supply, Demand, and Pricing The Forest Products Sector Forest Products Supply and Demand The Demand for Timber Timber Supply Long-Run Wood Supply Projections Determinants of Stumpage Prices Price Distortions 5 Non-Timber Forest Values Priced Non-Timber Forest Values Unpriced Values: A Problem of Measurement Consumer Surplus as a Measure of Value Evaluating Unpriced Recreation Other Considerations in Valuing Recreational Resources Externalities, Intrinsic Value, and Other Complications 6 Land Allocation and Multiple Use Land Rent and Land Value Intensity of Land Use Extensive Margin of Land Use Allocation among Uses Combinations of Uses Practical Difficulties An Illustration: Payments for Environmental Services on Private Lands PART 3 – The Economics of Forest Management 7 The Optimal Forest Rotation Optimal Rotation in Discrete Format Optimal Rotation Age in Continuous Format Cutting Cycle for an Uneven-Aged StandComparisons with Other Rotation Criteria Other Impacts on the Optimal Rotation Hartman Rotation Age 8 Forest Management Planning, Regulating Harvests over Time, and Wildfire Economics The Stand and the Forest Economics of Forest Management Planning: Maximizing Forest Asset ValueRegulating Forest Harvest over Time: Market Solutions and LimitationsThe Regulated Forest Transition to a Normal ForestSustained Yield Rationale and CritiqueTimber Harvests over Time in the Absence of Sustained Yield Policy: Market as a Regulator Forest Health Economics: The Case of Wildfire Management 9 Long-Term Trends in the Forest Sector and Silvicultural Investment Long-Term Trends in the Forest Sector A Conceptual Model for Silvicultural Investment Factors Influencing Silvicultural Investment on Private Lands Silvicultural Investment on Public Lands Planted Forest Development in the Southern United States PART 4 – Economics of Forest Policy and Forestland Investments 10 Property Rights Property Rights, Property Value, and Economic Efficiency Evolution of Forest Property Rights Dimensions of Property and Their Economic Implications Common Forms of Forest Tenure Economic Issues of Tenure Systems Two Examples Byond the Binary of Private and Public Ownership 11 Forest Taxes and Other Charges Characteristics of Forest Charges Property Taxes Levies on Harvests or Timber to Be HarvestedCharges for Rights: Land Rentals and Fees Forest Tax-Related Issues in the United States Tax Incidence and Deadweight Loss Other Economic Considerations 12 Forestland Investments Types of Forestland Ownership Efficient Portfolio Theory and Asset Pricing Models The Rise and Fall of Industrial Forestland Ownership The Rise of Institutional Forestland Ownership Empirical Evidence: The Financial Performance of Forestland Investments Summary AppendixPART 5 – Forest Economics in Global Perspective 13 Forest Products Trade Trends in International Forest Products Trade Comparative Advantage and the Principle of Specialization Production Possibilities and Terms of Bilateral Trade Factors Influencing International Forest Products Trade The Political Economy of Trade Restrictions Measuring Competitiveness in Forest Products Trade Foreign Direct Investment in the Forest Industry 14 Global Forest Resources and the Environment Global Forest Resources Population, Economic Growth, and the Environment Forest-Based Industrialization and Tropical Deforestation Forests and Climate Change Emerging Issues in Forest EconomicsAnswers to Numerical Review Questions Index