| By: |
Matthew T. Cole (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University);
Jacqueline Doremus (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University);
Stephen Hamilton (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University) |
| Abstract: |
Eco-certification standards are increasingly used by industrial countries to
impose import restrictions on goods produced by foreign suppliers. Import
restrictions on eco-certified goods that prevent the trade of goods derived
from unsustainable practices serve to segment global markets served by foreign
producers into a conventional market and a certified market, altering market
structure and equilibrium prices in a manner that potentially works against
sustainability goals. In this paper, we examine the effect of forest
certification on tropical timber production in Central Africa. Using panel
data of timber production in Cameroon from 2003 to 2009, we show that
conventional timber producers substantially increase harvest rates in response
to eco-certification standards, and that this effect is strongest in less
competitive timber markets. Moreover, we find eco-certification shifts
production to forests with higher extraction costs and potentially higher
marginal damages from timber extraction, exacerbating economic inefficiency. |
| Keywords: |
forestry, trade, product differentiation, eco-label |
| JEL: |
Q23 O13 L31 |
| Date: |
2019 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpl:wpaper:1902&r=all |