China's Forest Sector Markets: Policy Issues and Recommendations
SUMMARY Based on the papers contributed to this Special Issue and other studies an effort is made to identify the major policy issues facing the Chinese forest sector. The policy analysis is organized around the so-called ‘supply china’ (from stump to final products' markets). The discussion of policy issues and implications centers on the identified large and growing gap in the demand/supply balance of forest products. A major problem to carry out the policy analysis is the identified lack of consistent and transparent data for the different components of the ‘supply chain’. This is a situation which must be substantially improved in order to undertake relevant policy setting for the Chinese forest sector.
Comparison of revealed comparative advantage indexes with application to trade tendencies of cellulose production from planted forests in Brazil, Canada, China, Sweden, Finland and the United States
The pulp industry is an important sector of the global economy and a positive contributor to the trade balance in pulp producing countries. The main objective of this study was to analyze the competitiveness in the production of wood pulp in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Finland, and China. We employed two indexes – the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index and the revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) index – to ascertain the underlying comparative advantages between countries. Further, we used the trade balance index (TBI) to assess wood pulp's impacts on trade balance. Results showed that under the RCA index, all countries but China have comparative advantages. The RSCA indicated that the highest comparative advantages belong to Finland, Canada, and Sweden. Trade balance, assessed via the TBI index, found positive trade balances for Brazil, Finland, Canada, Sweden, and the USA. China has the greatest comparative disadvantage. We concluded that the wood pulp industry has a strong positive influence on the export economies of Brazil, Finland, Canada and Sweden; and in the USA it has a moderate positive influence.
Working out the kinks: Understanding the fall and rise of energy use in China
The causes of the decline in China's energy consumption between 1996 and 2000 are analyzed.