Explaining Agriculture Expansion and Deforestation: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon – 1980/98

Claudio Ferraz

No 106, Discussion Papers from Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA

Abstract: The extent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon grew significantly in the last 20 years. Approximately 400,000 km2 of tropical forest were cleared from 1978 to 1998. Land conversion to pasture and crop areas were the main sources of deforestation, though the contribution of logging increased significantly in the nineties. This paper uses panel data for eight states of the Brazilian Amazon, from 1980 to 1998, to estimate a model of the determinants of crop area and cattle herd expansion within the region. Results show that the expansion of crop area is determined by changes in land prices, government agriculture credit and roads while the growth of cattle herd is mainly driven by the decrease in the price of cattle head and the expansion of the road network. O desflorestamento na Amazônia aumentou significativamente durante os últimos 20 anos. Aproximadamente 400.000 km2 de florestas tropicais foram devastados entre 1978 e 1998, sendo a sua maioria convertida em pastagens e lavouras. Este trabalho usa dados de painel de oito estados da Amazônia, de 1980 a 1998, para estimar um modelo dos determinantes da expansão da área plantada e de cabeças de gado na região. Os resultados mostram que a expansão da área plantada está associada a variações de preços da terra, crédito agrícola e estradas, enquanto o aumento do número de cabeças de gado está determinado principalmente pela redução do preço do boi e pela expansão da malha rodoviária.

Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2015-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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