Abstract
Institutions, the fourth factor of production in the economy, matter becauseof transaction costs. Unlike other primary industries, silviculture is not “self-contained”,which means that transaction costs are significant and institutions play aspecial role. Forestry in the less developed countries (LDCs) often suffers from apoor supply of institutions and so not only becomes less competitive than that of developed countries (DCs), but also less well managed than other sectors in thesame countries. China’s experience can explain to some extent the special role of institutions in forest management. The poor state of forests prior to the 1950s resultedfrom continuous wars and disorders of society, while the unimprovement andeven deterioration of forests during the last half-century are mainly due to the malfunctioning economic and political institutions. The economic reforms since the 1980s,which are intended to restructure the institutions, have had some positive effects on forestry. However, the effects are still very limited because the development of institutions cannot be timeless and costless.
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Zhang, Y. (2001). Institutions in Forest Management: Special Reference to China. In: Palo, M., Uusivuori, J., Mery, G. (eds) World Forests, Markets and Policies. World Forests, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0664-4_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0664-4_24
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