Effects of gender and length of land tenure on timber supply in Finland

This study investigated timber supply from Finnish non-industrial private forests (NIPF) using the consistent Tobit model and nation-wide micropanel survey data on timber sales of 1299 forest owners during 2004-2008. The effects of forest owners’ gender and length of land tenure on timber supply were studied in particular. Women sold one cubic meter per hectare and peryear(about 30%) less than men did. Female owners sold less frequently, but larger quantities at a time than did male owners. Short-tenure (<5 years) owners’ harvests were only affected by price, owner’s age, income, timber stock and forest acreage. A group with relatively high harvest levels was young, low-income new forest owners.