This book traces the economic and biological pattern of forest development from initial settlement and harvest activity at the natural forest frontier to modern industrial forest plantations. It builds from diagrams describing three discrete stages of forest development, and then discusses the management and policy implications associated with each, supporting its observations with examples and data from six continents and from both developed and developing countries. It shows that characteristic distinctions between the three stages make forestry unusual in natural resource management and that effective policy requires different, even contrasting, decisions at each stage.

William F. Hyde’s comprehensive discussion covers a wide range of issues, including the impacts of both specific forest policies and broader macroeconomic policies, the unique requirements of current issues such as global warming, biodiversity and tourism, and the complexities of the different forest products industries. Concluding chapters review the roles of the newer institutional landowners, of smaller private and farm landowners, and of public agencies. This highly-original volume reaches far beyond forest economics; it explains what forestry can do for regional development and environmental conservation and what policies designed for other sectors and the macro-economy can do for forestry.

Reviews

"This unique book covers the fundamental economic questions of forestry, but does not limit itself to a particular region or (time) frame. It comprehensively complements the contributions the author has made to our understanding of the economics of forestry with the broader research in the field. All of the topics are covered with sufficient clarity to provide a unified perspective on the fundamental questions facing forestry in the future." – David Newman, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

"Relevant worldwide for many important policy decisions, including pressing climat, and equally helpful for training students across disciplines and levels of experience, Hyde's stages framework is clear and easy to grasp. Whether you prefer words, diagrams or equations, a tour of points and places is on offer from somebody who really has been there." – Alexander Pfaff, Duke University

"Lives up to its title … will be a classic" – Runsheng Yin, Michigan State University

"In his excellent book The Global Economics of Forestry, Hyde has done more than lay out the paradigm that unites the biology and bounty inherent in global forests with market economics that utilize the resource. He has gone to painstaking efforts to compile literature, sometimes spanning centuries, to identify where human experience matches or defies our modeled understanding of forest-related markets." - Gabriel Thoumi and Brian Loux, Mongabay, November 2012

Contents

1. Introduction 2. The Pattern of Forestry in the Course of Economic Development 3. Forest Develo...