Deforestation, distribution and development

This paper investigates the role played by distributional factors in mediating the effects of growth and development on forest depletion in tropical developing countries. A key finding of the paper is that the distributional profile of a country significantly determines whether economic development will have either a positive or a negative effect on the rate of forest loss. In countries where levels of inequality are high, development will tend to exacerbate deforestation rates while in countries where distributional profiles are more egalitarian, the negative effects of growth and development on forest cover will be ameliorated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.