Corruption: A challenge for economists interested in forest policy design

Forest policy design is perhaps one of the most studied areas in all of forest economics, boasting hundreds of articles published within the past two decades. The goal with this research has often been to examine the design of policies to mitigate several types of externalities associated with forest use, or to overcome problems with open access exploitation of forest stocks. Nowhere has this work and the results drawn from it been more important or controversial than in developing economies. These economies are typically characterized by large distant native public forests and a government without the means to properly enforce...