SOCIO-7: October 2000 Progress Report

How do forests and their uses influence the quality of life in the South?

Thomas Holmes

submitted February 20th, 2001

General approach to chapter:

I. Introduction

A.  Overview of the Quality of Life concept

  1. Combines material/objective with psychological/subjective
  2. Lack of a theoretical framework impedes "validity" testing

B.  Forestry context for QoL discussion

  1. Focus on relationships between people and forests
    1. historical, cultural, utilitarian etc.
    2. list of market and non-market benefits provided by forests
  2. Forestry contributions to local economies
    1. economic base model - timber, tourism
  3. Forest policies related with QoL concerns
    1. sustained yield and community stability
  4. "Willingness to pay" as proxy variable for QoL
    1. Consumer surplus concept
    2. Review of forestry literature on WTP

II.  Methods

A.  Examine the link between forest dependency and QoL

  1. Define: forest dependency = wood products industry job share
  2. Map (ARCVIEW) forest dependency, by wood products industry
  3. List variable that proxy for QoL - economic and social variables
  4. Evaluate QoL variables for counties with job share > 0.10
  5. Estimate QoL indices - using principal component analysis
  6. Map (ARCVIEW) QoL indices
  7. Correlate QoL indices with forest dependency

B.  Describe forest characteristics in South as a function of forest uses

  1. 1.  List variables that proxy for various forest uses, hardwood and pine
  2. 2.  Estimate forest use indices, using principal component analysis
  3. 3.  Map (ARCVIEW ) forest use indices 

C.  Link forest uses with economic structure

  1. Define: productive structure = job share in forest and non-forest sectors
  2. Correlate forest use indices with productive structure
  3. Define: consumptive structure = consumption of local forest services
    1. proxy = "forest consumption density" = population/forest ac.
  4. Map (ARCVIEW) areas w/ high consumption density & high management intensity
    1. this defines areas with emerging scarcity of "natural" forests

III.  Data

A.  Forest uses:  FIA

  1. forest %
  2. pine %
  3. plantation %
  4. change in plantation %
  5. pine removal/pine growth
  6. hardwood %
  7. upland hardwood %
  8. hardwood removal/hardwood growth

B.  Social and economic variables:  Bur. of Census, State and County Data Book

  1. high school graduation %
  2. population density
  3. percentage change in population 1980-1990
  4. poverty %
  5. infant mortality
  6. crime rate
  7. owner occupied housing %
  8. unemployment %
  9. Median household income
  10. job share: pulp and paper
  11. job share: sawmill
  12. job share: secondary processing
  13. job share: rec. and tourism
  14. job share: agriculture
  15. job share: mining
  16. job share: construction
  17. job share: manufacturing
  18. job share: transport & public utilities
  19. job share: wholesale
  20. job share: retail
  21. job share: FIRE
  22. job share: services
  23. job share: government                   

 

 

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 modified: 20-FEB-2001