Extractive non-timber forestry and agriculture in rural Vietnam

摘要

Occasionally, households use forests as a source for collecting minor forest products. These goods can serve as an important additional source of income or nutrient supply. Considering this link between forest production and the agricultural sector, we estimate the collection function of the extractive good in a sample selection framework in which the wealth status, the prime agricultural cash source, and paid labour are assumed to influence the decision about collecting minor forest products. Results show that poorer households are more dependent on minor forest products. We also find that returns to labour in the agriculture and forestry sectors are not significantly different. We use these returns to establish shadow prices for the extractive good and in turn, use these to estimate price and income elasticities for the good's demand. The minor forest product is a normal good with unit elasticity; shadow income elasticity is equal to 0.82.