Poorly Defined Property Rights and Tropical Deforestation

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of poorly defined property rights on tropical deforestation due to logging activities. We develop two-period and long term frameworks. The short term model analyzes the impact of non-transferability of logging title on deforestation while the long term one examines the influence of rapid expiration of logging title on this environmental issue. We show that the non-transferability and the rapid expiration of logging contracts worsen tropical deforestation.