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Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models

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Title Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models
 
Creator Angelsen, A.
Kaimowitz, D.
 
Subject agricultural prices
credit
deforestation
economic growth
external debt
income
international trade
off-farm employment
population pressure
policies
structural adjustment
technical progress
models
change
land use
 
Description This article, which synthesizes the results of more than 140 economic models analyzing the causes of tropical deforestation, raises significant doubts about many conventional hypotheses in the debate about deforestation. More roads, higher agricultural prices, lower wages, and a shortage of off-farm employment generally lead to more deforestation. How technical change, agricultural input prices, household income levels, and tenure security affect deforestation-if at all-is unknown. The role of macroeconomic factors such as population growth, poverty reduction, national income, economic growth and foreign debt is also ambiguous. This review, however, finds that policy reforms included in current economic liberalization and adjustment efforts may increase the pressure on forests. Although the boom in deforestation modeling has yielded new insights, weak methodology and poor-quality data make the results of many models questionable.
 
Date 1999
2012-06-04T09:04:51Z
2012-06-04T09:04:51Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Angelsen, A., Kaimowitz, D. 1999. Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models . World Bank Research Observer 14 (1) :73-98.
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/18018
https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/516
 
Language en
 
Format p. 73-98
 
Source World Bank Research Observer