What Dirves Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon? Evidence from Satellite and Socioeconomic Data

摘要

While previous empirical analysis of deforestation focused on population, this paper builds from a model of land use which suggests amny determinants of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. I derive a defroestation equation from this model and test a number of those factors using county-level data for the period 1978-1998. The data include a satellite deforestation measure which allows improved within-country analysis. The major empirical finding is the significance of both land characteristics (such as soil quality and vegetation density) and factors affecting transport costs (such as distance to major markets and both own- and neighboring-county roads).