We analyzed the factors determining mangrove conversion by shrimp farmers in the coastal provinces of Thailand between 1979–1996. The profit-maximizing behavior of a shrimp farmer converting mangrove area under open access conditions is modeled. Aggregate mangrove clearing by all farmers in...

The following paper analyzes the economic and demographic factors determining the conversion of mangroves in the coastal provinces of Thailand to commercial shrimp farming. Mangrove conversion is therefore determined by the returns to shrimp farmers (i.e. the price of shrimp), the input costs to...

Mangroves line one quarter of the world's tropical coastlines, and approximately 117 countries and territories have mangrove resources within their borders. Although over recent years mangrove deforestation has occurred at a phenomenal rate worldwide, there have been few economic studies of the...

The article develops a dynamic model of habitat-fishery linkage in which the habitat is being converted. The basic model is applied to a case study of the impacts of mangrove deforestation on the artisanal marine demersal and shellfish fisheries in Thailand. The comparative static effects of a...

Mangroves are considered ecologically important due to their role as breeding grounds and nursery habitats for off-shore fisheries. However, mangrove deforestation through conversion to shrimp aquaculture threatens this valuable function. This paper develops a "dynamic" production function...

This paper both introduces the special issue on the economics of tropical deforestation and land use and conducts a synthesis crosscountry analysis of tropical agricultural land expansion. Agricultural development is the main factor determining land expansion, but institutional factors have an...

Tropical moist forests provide a range of goods and services to society. Traditionally, decisions regarding tropical forest land use have been made on the basis of major direct uses of forest land that generate local and national benefits. Typically, this has meant timber extraction and the...

Recent evidence suggests that special interest groups significantly affect tropical deforestation through lobbying. We develop an open-economy model in which resource conversion is determined by a self-interested government that is susceptible to the influences of the political contributions it...

This paper both introduces the special issue on the economics of tropical deforestation and land use and conducts a synthesis cross-country analysis of tropical agricultural land expansion. Agricultural development is the main factor determining land expansion, but institutional factors have an...

This paper analyses the relationship between rural poverty and soil degradation in the context of a shifting cultivating community. A deterministic optimal control model demonstrates how a representative household's labour allocation affects the natural resource base on which its livelihood...