The Global Forest Products Model (GFPM) book provides a complete introduction to this widely applied computer model. The GFPM is a dynamic economic equilibrium model that is used to predict production, consumption, trade, and prices of 14 major forest products in 180 interacting countries. The book thoroughly documents the methods, data, and computer software of the model, and demonstrates the model's usefulness in addressing international economic and environmental issues. The Global Forest Products Model is written by an international multi-disciplinary team and is ideal for graduate students and professionals in forestry, natural resource economics, and related fields. It explains trends in world forest industries in the simplest terms by explaining the economic theory underlying the model. It describes six applications of the GFPM, three of which were commissioned by the Food Agriculture of the United Nations, the USDA Forest Service, and New Zealand Research. The authors show how to apply the model to real issues such as the effects of the Asian economic crisis on the forest sector, the effects of eliminating tariffs on international trade and production, and the international effects of national environmental policies. They provide complete explanations on how to use the GFPM software, prepare the data, make the forecasts, and summarize the results with tables and graphs. - Comprehensive, and rigorous description of the world forestry sector - Written by an international multi-disciplinary team - Thorough description of data and methods - In-depth applications to modern economic and policy issues - Detailed documentation of the computer software - Suitable for students, researchers, and decision makers

This book is a collection of papers presented at the international symposium on forest sector analysis held in Miyazaki, Japan, in 1998. It is structured with three themes: understanding global forest sector issues, discussing the contribution of modeling efforts to forest sector analysis, and discussing the role of Japanese forest policy in a global sense. The most important features are the case studies using various types of forest sector models. From a modeling perspective, changes in modeling efforts include more detail of spatial and multiple market levels, intergenerational welfare concerns, non-market valuation issues, and explicit treatment of the uncertainty inherent in both the policy process and in the biophysical systems. The reader of this book will benefit not only from presentation of forest utilization issues in different nations, but also from the interrelatedness of the theory and application of forest sector modeling.

Because of the long-standing Canada-U.S. lumber trade dispute and the current pressure on the world's forests as a renewable energy source, much attention has been directed toward the modelling of international trade in wood products. Two types of trade models are described in this book: one is rooted in economic theory and mathematical programming, and the other consists of two econometric/statistical models--a gravity model rooted in theory and an approach known as GVAR that relies on time series analyses. The purpose of the book is to provide the background theory behind models and facilitate readers in easily constructing their own models to analyse policy questions that they wish to address, whether in forestry or some other sector. Examples in the book are meant to illustrate how models can be used to say something about a variety of issues, including identification of the gains and losses to various players in the North American softwood lumber business, and the potential for redirecting sales of lumber to countries outside the United States. The discussion is expanded to include other products besides lumber, and used to examine, for example, the effects of log export restrictions by one nation on all other forestry jurisdictions, the impacts of climate policies as they relate to the global forest sector, and the impact of oil prices on forest product markets throughout the world. This book will appeal to practising economists and researchers who wish to examine various policies that affect international trade, whether their interest is local or international in scope. Because the book provides the theoretical bases underlying various models, students and practitioners will find this a valuable reference book or supplementary textbook.

The papers in this book were 'in a preliminary version' presented at an international con ference May 21-25, 2002 in Gilleleje, Denmark. It was a joint event, namely the biennial meeting of the Scandinavian Society of Forest Economics and the 3rd Berkeley-KVL Con ference. The Scandinavian Society of Forest Economics (SSFE) was established in 1958 as a forum for forest economists in the Nordic countries to meet and exchange ideas on research and education. Alternating between Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, biennial ordinary meetings have taken place ever since. The number of participants has increased from 10-15 in the first decade to more than 80 in 2002. In the last two decades prominent researchers from outside Scandinavia have been invited to present papers at the biennial meetings and also to participate in ad hoc working groups. The Berkeley-KVL part of the conference is based on a research collaboration between The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), Copenhagen, University of Cali fornia at Berkeley, and Oregon State University. It was initiated in 1993 within the frame work of a research programme at KVL: 'Stochastic Decision Analysis in Forest Manage ment' and since 1996 extended to the programme 'Economic Optimisation of Multiple-Use Forestry and Other Natural Resources'.