The Economics of Tropical Deforestation
Two factors have elevated recent academic and policy interest in tropical deforestation: first, the realization that it is a major contributor to climate change; and second, a revolution in satellite-based measurement that has revealed that it is proceeding at a rapid rate. We begin by reviewing the...
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| Language: | en_US |
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Annual Reviews
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/153915 |
| _version_ | 1826211848105492480 |
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| author | Balboni, Clare Berman, Aaron Burgess, Robin Olken, Benjamin A. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Balboni, Clare Berman, Aaron Burgess, Robin Olken, Benjamin A. |
| author_sort | Balboni, Clare |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Two factors have elevated recent academic and policy interest in tropical deforestation: first, the realization that it is a major contributor to climate change; and second, a revolution in satellite-based measurement that has revealed that it is proceeding at a rapid rate. We begin by reviewing the methodological advances that have enabled measurement of forest loss at a fine spatial resolution across the globe. We then develop a simple benchmark model of deforestation based on classic models of natural resource extraction. Extending this approach to incorporate features that characterize deforestation in developing countries—pressure for land use change, significant local and global externalities, weak property rights, and political economy constraints—provides us with a framework for reviewing the fast-growing empirical literature on the economics of deforestation in the tropics. This combination of theory and empirics provides insights not only into the economic drivers and impacts of tropical deforestation but also into policies that may affect its progression. We conclude by identifying areas where more work is needed in this important body of research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:12:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/153915 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:24:21Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Annual Reviews |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1539152025-01-02T04:47:17Z The Economics of Tropical Deforestation Balboni, Clare Berman, Aaron Burgess, Robin Olken, Benjamin A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Economics and Econometrics Two factors have elevated recent academic and policy interest in tropical deforestation: first, the realization that it is a major contributor to climate change; and second, a revolution in satellite-based measurement that has revealed that it is proceeding at a rapid rate. We begin by reviewing the methodological advances that have enabled measurement of forest loss at a fine spatial resolution across the globe. We then develop a simple benchmark model of deforestation based on classic models of natural resource extraction. Extending this approach to incorporate features that characterize deforestation in developing countries—pressure for land use change, significant local and global externalities, weak property rights, and political economy constraints—provides us with a framework for reviewing the fast-growing empirical literature on the economics of deforestation in the tropics. This combination of theory and empirics provides insights not only into the economic drivers and impacts of tropical deforestation but also into policies that may affect its progression. We conclude by identifying areas where more work is needed in this important body of research. 2024-03-22T14:31:52Z 2024-03-22T14:31:52Z 2023-09-13 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1941-1383 1941-1391 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/153915 Balboni, Clare, Berman, Aaron, Burgess, Robin and Olken, Benjamin A. 2023. "The Economics of Tropical Deforestation." Annual Review of Economics, 15 (1). en_US 10.1146/annurev-economics-090622-024705 Annual Review of Economics Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Annual Reviews Author |
| spellingShingle | Economics and Econometrics Balboni, Clare Berman, Aaron Burgess, Robin Olken, Benjamin A. The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title | The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title_full | The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title_fullStr | The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title_short | The Economics of Tropical Deforestation |
| title_sort | economics of tropical deforestation |
| topic | Economics and Econometrics |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/153915 |
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