23: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

24:T44a,

Policy reforms aimed at preserving the Philippines' remaining forests, including the flagship community forestry program, have created a gap in the supply requirements of the local wood industry. Trade liberalization, however, is expected to fill this gap with the importation of lumber until forest plantations, both corporate and community based, are capable of yielding the needed volume. This article focuses on political intervention and how it can impede the process of communities taking over former logging concessions and other forestry reform policies. Community forestry represents a shift in policy from the system of timber license agreements given to the elite in the past and was most pronounced during the authoritarian years of government. Democracy, coupled with an effective nongovernmental organization movement and a vigilant civil society, enabled the change. However, pressures from politicians can derail this flagship program of government, as a case study of the largest community-based forest in the Philippines shows.

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Market Power in the Log and Lumber Import Market in Japan

The Politics of Community Forestry in the Philippines