In this chapter, we provide a brief background to the major players in global lumber markets, both countries and companies. In addition, the four measures economists use for measuring welfare and income redistributions are described, and the remaining chapters outlined.

The role and purpose of trade modeling in forestry is highlighted, as is the need for greater attention to data needs. Directions for future research are discussed.

This chapter constructs a model of international grain trade. The model enables us to explore what happens when a country opens itself up to trade. For instance, does trading result in less or more price volatility? Does the price of grain within a country rise or fall when it engages in trade? The ...

In this chapter, we examine the importance of softwood lumber production to Canada's economy and provide a brief history of the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute and its resolution on various occasions using U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties, export taxes or various types of quota...

The focus in this chapter is on the development of mathematical programming models used to model bilateral forest products trade. Theoretical outlines are provided of a multi-region, single product trade model and of an integrated, multi-region, multi-product trade model. The objective function and ...

A gravity trade model can be used to determine the effects of policy on bilateral trade flows. The gravity model is initially explained and then used to determine the effect that U.S. tariffs have on softwood lumber (SWL) imports from Canada, using information from the 2006 Softwood Lumber...

A novel econometric approach is developed in this chapter, namely, the Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) model. It provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing the country-level impacts of various domestic, foreign, and/or global shocks on softwood lumber trade. The GVAR approach is applied...

This chapter reviews the economic aspects of pomegranate production in major production countries and the trade flow in the international markets. Sections look at: world production and trade; price discovery; competitiveness and market power in pomegranate export market; and export standards.

This chapter describes the history of human and bird interactions, including domestication, international trade, conservation and the environmental impact of bird invasions.

This chapter paints the overall picture of grain production and trade in the world. It highlights where grain is cultivated, the distribution of the world's population, the distribution of the world's cropland, the surplus and deficit continents, and the top importers and exporters of grain.