Current issue: 58(4)
In 1979, the Federal Research in the United States instituted a so-called ”tight money” policy which led to a decrease in the demand for stumpage. The decrease in demand brought about lower stumpage prices and, consequently, a waning interest in policies to stimulate NIPF production. The authors report on five recent studies on NIPF behaviour and raise concerns that increases in demand for housing may bring new pressure upon NIPF as a source of wood.
In this paper the system of collective timber price agreement in Norway is described. The history of »collective behaviour» in the roundwood market can be tracked far back in history, with different degrees of importance, and it has totally dominated the price-formation of roundwood from the 1950’s until the present. In trying to answer the question »What has been the effect of the collective price agreements» a few theoretical market models are used and the empirical data are also employed. Both the theoretical discussion and the empirical data seem to indicate that the forest owners are better off with collective price agreements than with a situation where there are no organized price-negotiations.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The survey focuses on the stumpage prices of standing sales, where the buyer of the wood takes care of felling and transport of the timber. The study concentrates further on conifer sawn timber. The prices of the sawn timber rose continuously from 1891 to 1910. After 1913 the stumpage price fluctuations reflected the changes in the market. The article includes a detailed description on the changes of the saw timber in 1913-1922 and the factors affecting the prices. The prices are shown for different parts of the Finland. The first world war affects the prices and demand on saw timber in 1917-1918. In Northern Finland the prices of sawn timber increased slower than in Southern Finland. In general, the unfavorable factors have had stronger impact on the stumpage prices than the favorable.
The PDF includes a summary in German.