RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Deforestation, Land Use, and Property Rights: Empirical Evidence from Darién, Panama
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 187
OP 205
DO 10.2307/3147089
VO 77
IS 2
A1 Nelson, Gerald C.
A1 Harris, Virginia
A1 Stone, Steven W.
A1 Barbier, Edward B.
A1 Burgess, Joanne C.
YR 2001
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/77/2/187.abstract
AB Economic conventional wisdom suggests that providing land users with more secure property rights will result in more sustainable land use and less deforestation. In this paper, we use spatial econometric techniques to evaluate quantitatively the effect on land use of designated property rights in three parts of Darién province––a national park where no human activity is supposed to occur, and two reserves for indigenous peoples. Results suggest that legal property rights for an indigenous population can influence land use. Geography appears to be more important than legal protection for the national park. (JEL Q15, Q23)