23:T4f0,

As pressures mount to develop intensive business operations along a coastline prized for its natural beauty, varied plant and wildlife and archeological sites, it is important to present decision makers with a full analysis of all values associated with the area. In this study, we examine whether the benefits of business development along the Rosh Haniqra Marine Reserve in northern Israel indeed outweigh the costs of potential damages to the region’s delicate natural balance. The analysis of business value was carried out on the basis of a detailed survey of facilities operating within the proposed reserve area and assessment of their expansion plans. The non-market benefits associated with conservation of the reserve were estimated according to two independent methods—Contingent Valuation (CVM) and Travel Cost (TCM). Our analysis reveals that under certain assumptions, non-market values of the coastline are higher than its commercial value. Thus, while further analysis is required to investigate the interaction between the number of visitors and the ecological performance of the site, it may already now be concluded that the preservation value is quite significant and should be taken into account in development plans for the region.

24:T4fc,

Japan imports rather than exports forestry products even though it has ample forestry resources. Moreover, the leading exporters of forest products often have strong market power in the trade market of forestry products. The possibility of incomplete competition in the Japanese wood import market can also be suspected from the fact that the structure of imports of logs and lumber has remained unchanged over the past 10 years. However, there has been limited empirical economic analysis of the timber trade market to support this assertion.

In this study, we examine the market power of the primary exporting countries in the Japanese log and lumber market based on the residual demand model. We analysed the import data of forestry products from 1988 to 2010 with respect to every main item exported to Japan. The analysis shows that Canada has market power over several items of logs in the Japanese import market, while the United States and Canada have market power over several items of lumber. The study also clarifies that imperfect competition exists in the Japanese timber import market and that the timber price in Japan is partially determined by the exporting countries.

JEL Classification: Q17, Q23, Q27

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Commercial Development and Conservation Value

Market Power in the Log and Lumber Import Market in Japan