Is Free Trade the End All Be All? The Case of Log Exports

Gerrit van Kooten

No 2014-01, Working Papers from University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group

Abstract: The government of British Columbia imposes restrictions on the export of logs from public and private forestlands, primarily to promote local processing and associated employment benefits. Economists wholeheartedly oppose BC’s export restrictions, arguing that BC’s citizens are worse off as a result of the government’s measures. In this paper, it is shown that, while free trade in logs might well maximize global wellbeing, it might not necessarily result in the greatest benefit to British Columbia. Indeed, both economic theory and a follow-up numerical analysis indicate that some restrictions on the export of logs can lead to higher welfare for BC than free trade.

Keywords: international trade; log exports; forest industry; quota rents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F14 Q23 Q27 Q28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2014-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-pke
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Is Free Trade the End All Be All? The Case of Log Exports (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rep:wpaper:2014-01

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