IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rff/dpaper/dp-15-36.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does Eco-certification Stem Tropical Deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council Certification in Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Blackman, Allen

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Goff, Leonard

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Planter, Marisol Rivera

Abstract

Since its creation more than two decades ago as a voluntary market-based approach to improving forest management, forest certification has proliferated rapidly in developing countries. Yet we know little about whether and under what conditions it affects deforestation. We use rich forest management unit-level panel data—including information on deforestation, certification, regulatory permitting, and geophysical and socioeconomic land characteristics—along with matched fixed effects models to identify the effect of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on deforestation in Mexico, the country with the third-highest number of FSC certifications in the developing world. We test for a variety of different temporal and subgroup effects but are unable to reject the null hypothesis that certification does not affect deforestation. Although these results do not indicate that FSC certification has no effect on forest management, they do suggest that its impact on deforestation may be limited.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen & Goff, Leonard & Planter, Marisol Rivera, 2015. "Does Eco-certification Stem Tropical Deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council Certification in Mexico," RFF Working Paper Series dp-15-36, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-15-36
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/RFF-DP-15-36.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patricia Rogers, 2014. "Theory of Change: Methodological Briefs - Impact Evaluation No. 2," Papers innpub747, Methodological Briefs.
    2. Gwenolé Le Velly & Alexandre Sauquet & Sergio Cortina-Villar, 2017. "PES Impact and Leakages over Several Cohorts: The Case of the PSA-H in Yucatan, Mexico," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 93(2), pages 230-257.
    3. Markus Kitzmueller & Jay Shimshack, 2012. "Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 51-84, March.
    4. Jennifer M. Alix-Garcia & Elizabeth N. Shapiro & Katharine R. E. Sims, 2012. "Forest Conservation and Slippage: Evidence from Mexico’s National Payments for Ecosystem Services Program," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(4), pages 613-638.
    5. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    6. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    7. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    8. Sébastien Costedoat & Esteve Corbera & Driss Ezzine-de-Blas & Jordi Honey-Rosés & Kathy Baylis & Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, 2015. "How Effective Are Biodiversity Conservation Payments in Mexico?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, March.
    9. Forest L. Reinhardt & Robert N. Stavins & Richard H. K. Vietor, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility Through an Economic Lens," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 2(2), pages 219-239, Summer.
    10. Nebel, Gustav & Quevedo, Lincoln & Bredahl Jacobsen, Jette & Helles, Finn, 2005. "Development and economic significance of forest certification: the case of FSC in Bolivia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 175-186, February.
    11. Blackman, Allen, 2013. "Evaluating forest conservation policies in developing countries using remote sensing data: An introduction and practical guide," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    12. Howard S. Bloom, 1995. "Minimum Detectable Effects," Evaluation Review, , vol. 19(5), pages 547-556, October.
    13. Daniela A. Miteva & Subhrendu K. Pattanayak & Paul J. Ferraro, 2012. "Evaluation of biodiversity policy instruments: what works and what doesn’t?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 69-92, Spring.
    14. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    15. Hanna Rema Nadeem & Oliva Paulina, 2010. "The Impact of Inspections on Plant-Level Air Emissions," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-33, March.
    16. Jan Börner & Kathy Baylis & Esteve Corbera & Driss Ezzine-de-Blas & Paul J Ferraro & Jordi Honey-Rosés & Renaud Lapeyre & U Martin Persson & Sven Wunder, 2016. "Emerging Evidence on the Effectiveness of Tropical Forest Conservation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-11, November.
    17. Ho, Daniel E. & Imai, Kosuke & King, Gary & Stuart, Elizabeth A., 2007. "Matching as Nonparametric Preprocessing for Reducing Model Dependence in Parametric Causal Inference," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 199-236, July.
    18. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Large Sample Properties of Matching Estimators for Average Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 235-267, January.
    19. Cerutti, Paolo Omar & Tacconi, Luca & Nasi, Robert & Lescuyer, Guillaume, 2011. "Legal vs. certified timber: Preliminary impacts of forest certification in Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 184-190, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jimena Rico & Stephanie Panlasigui & Colby J. Loucks & Jennifer Swenson & Alexander Pfaff, 2017. "Logging concessions, certification and protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon: forest impacts from development rights and land-use restrictions," Working Papers 2017.22, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    2. Cole, Matthew T. & Doremus, Jacqueline M. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2021. "Import restrictions by eco-certification: Quantity effects on tropical timber production," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    4. Stefano Pagiola & Gunars Platais & Marcos Sossai, 2019. "Protecting Natural Water Infrastructure in Espírito Santo, Brazil," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-24, October.
    5. Zubizarreta, Mikel & Arana-Landín, Germán & Wolff, Sarah & Egiluz, Ziortza, 2023. "Assessing the economic impacts of forest certification in Spain: A longitudinal study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    6. Jung, Suhyun & Polasky, Stephen, 2018. "Partnerships to prevent deforestation in the Amazon," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 498-516.
    7. Di Girolami, Erica & Kampen, Jarl & Arts, Bas, 2023. "Two systematic literature reviews of scientific research on the environmental impacts of forest certifications and community forest management at a global scale," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. Fergusson, Leopoldo & Saavedra, Santiago & Vargas, Juan F., 2020. "The perils of misusing remote sensing data: The case of forest cover," Working papers 41, Red Investigadores de Economía.
    9. Tritsch, Isabelle & Le Velly, Gwenolé & Mertens, Benoit & Meyfroidt, Patrick & Sannier, Christophe & Makak, Jean-Sylvestre & Houngbedji, Kenneth, 2020. "Do forest-management plans and FSC certification help avoid deforestation in the Congo Basin?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    10. Karsenty, Alain, 2019. "Certification of tropical forests: A private instrument of public interest? A focus on the Congo Basin," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Tannis Thorlakson, 2018. "A move beyond sustainability certification: The evolution of the chocolate industry's sustainable sourcing practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1653-1665, December.
    12. Isabelle Chort & Berk Öktem, 2023. "Agricultural shocks, coping policies and deforestation: evidence from the coffee leaf rust epidemic in mexico," Working Papers hal-03715600, HAL.
    13. repec:lib:000cis:v:6:y:2018:i:1:p:20-51 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Degnet, Mohammed B. & van der Werf, Edwin & Ingram, Verina & Wesseler, Justus, 2022. "Community perceptions: A comparative analysis of community participation in forest management: FSC-certified and non-certified plantations in Mozambique," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    15. Ralf Buckley, 2023. "Sector-Scale Proliferation of CSR Quality Label Programs via Mimicry: The Rotkäppchen Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-11, July.
    16. Nordén, Anna & Coria, Jessica & Villalobos, Laura, 2016. "Evaluation of the Impact of Forest Certification on Environmental Outcomes in Sweden," Working Papers in Economics 657, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    17. Anderson, Christa M. & Asner, Gregory P. & Lambin, Eric F., 2019. "Lack of association between deforestation and either sustainability commitments or fines in private concessions in the Peruvian Amazon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-8.
    18. Rico-Straffon, Jimena & Wang, Zhenhua & Panlasigui, Stephanie & Loucks, Colby J. & Swenson, Jennifer & Pfaff, Alexander, 2023. "Forest concessions and eco-certifications in the Peruvian Amazon: Deforestation impacts of logging rights and logging restrictions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chervier, Colas & Costedoat, Sébastien, 2017. "Heterogeneous Impact of a Collective Payment for Environmental Services Scheme on Reducing Deforestation in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 148-159.
    2. Arriagada, Rodrigo & Villaseñor, Adrián & Rubiano, Eliana & Cotacachi, David & Morrison, Judith, 2018. "Analysing the impacts of PES programmes beyond economic rationale: Perceptions of ecosystem services provision associated to the Mexican case," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PA), pages 116-127.
    3. Sébastien Costedoat & Esteve Corbera & Driss Ezzine-de-Blas & Jordi Honey-Rosés & Kathy Baylis & Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, 2015. "How Effective Are Biodiversity Conservation Payments in Mexico?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Carrilho, Cauê D. & Demarchi, Gabriela & Duchelle, Amy E. & Wunder, Sven & Morsello, Carla, 2022. "Permanence of avoided deforestation in a Transamazon REDD+ project (Pará, Brazil)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    5. Jones, Kelly W. & Muñoz Brenes, Carlos L. & Shinbrot, Xoco A. & López-Báez, Walter & Rivera-Castañeda, Andrómeda, 2018. "The influence of cash and technical assistance on household-level outcomes in payments for hydrological services programs in Chiapas, Mexico," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PA), pages 208-218.
    6. Blackman, Allen, 2015. "Strict versus mixed-use protected areas: Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 14-24.
    7. Gwenolé Le Velly & Céline Dutilly, 2016. "Evaluating Payments for Environmental Services: Methodological Challenges," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Blackman, Allen & Naranjo, María Angélica & Robalino, Juan & Alpízar, Francisco & Rivera, Jorge, 2014. "Does Tourism Eco-Certification Pay? Costa Rica’s Blue Flag Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 41-52.
    9. Delacote, Philippe & Le Velly, Gwenolé & Simonet, Gabriela, 2022. "Revisiting the location bias and additionality of REDD+ projects: the role of project proponents status and certification," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    10. Javier Montoya-Zumaeta & Eduardo Rojas & Sven Wunder, 2019. "Adding rewards to regulation: The impacts of watershed conservation on land cover and household wellbeing in Moyobamba, Peru," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-22, November.
    11. Cauê Carrilho & Gabriela Demarchi & Amy Duchelle & Sven Wunder & Carla Morsello, 2022. "Permanence of avoided deforestation in a Transamazon REDD+ initiative (Pará, Brazil)," CEE-M Working Papers hal-03614704, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.
    12. Oliveira Fiorini, Ana Carolina & Mullally, Conner & Swisher, Marilyn & Putz, Francis E., 2020. "Forest cover effects of payments for ecosystem services: Evidence from an impact evaluation in Brazil," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    13. Blackman, Allen & Veit, Peter, 2018. "Titled Amazon Indigenous Communities Cut Forest Carbon Emissions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 56-67.
    14. Jones A.M & Rice N, 2009. "Econometric Evaluation of Health Policies," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/09, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    15. Jones, Kelly W. & Mayer, Alex & Von Thaden, Juan & Berry, Z. Carter & López-Ramírez, Sergio & Salcone, Jacob & Manson, Robert H. & Asbjornsen, Heidi, 2020. "Measuring the net benefits of payments for hydrological services programs in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    16. Liu, Zhaoyang & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2018. "Meta-Analysis of Livelihood Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services Programmes in Developing Countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 48-61.
    17. Jeffrey R. Vincent, 2016. "Impact Evaluation of Forest Conservation Programs: Benefit-Cost Analysis, Without the Economics," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 395-408, February.
    18. Izquierdo-Tort, Santiago & Ortiz-Rosas, Fiorella & Vázquez-Cisneros, Paola Angélica, 2019. "‘Partial’ participation in Payments for Environmental Services (PES): Land enrolment and forest loss in the Mexican Lacandona Rainforest," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    19. Wumeng He & Orapan Nabangchang & Krista Erdman & Alex C. A. Vanko & Prapti Poudel & Chandra Giri & Jeffrey R. Vincent, 2023. "Inferring Economic Impacts from a Program’s Physical Outcomes: An Application to Forest Protection in Thailand," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(3), pages 845-876, March.
    20. R A Arriagada & E O Sills & P J Ferraro & S K Pattanayak, 2015. "Do Payments Pay Off? Evidence from Participation in Costa Rica’s PES Program," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    eco-label; certification; forest cover change; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-15-36. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Resources for the Future (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.