The economics of tropical deforestation and land use: An introduction to the special issue

This paper both introduces the special issue on the economics of tropical d eforestation and land use and conducts a synthesis cross-country analysis o f tropical agricultural land expansion. Agricultural development is the mai n factor determining land expansion, but institutional factors have an impo rtant influence. Income effects vary from region to region, and do not alwa ys display the EKC relationship. The case studies comprising this special i ssue provide further case study insights into tropical deforestation and la nd use, through spatial analysis of locational factors, CGE modeling of pol icy scenarios, assessing external market impacts on land clearing, and mode lling state interventions and taxation.