The political economy of boom-and-bust logging in Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Malaysia, 1950-1994

In 1950, some of the most valuable forests in the tropics were found in insular Southeast Asia--in the Philippines, Indonesia, and the British colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah). All four states pledged to manage their forests sustainably; all passed laws that reflected this commitment; and all received sound forestry advice from international agencies and consultants. Yet by the mid-1990's each of these states had been through unsustainable logging booms that brought them exhausted forests, degraded soils, and declining timber supplies for their wood-processing industries.;The dissertation's theoretical work draws upon rent-seeking theory, contract theory, and rational choice institutionalism, as well as the study of clientelism and political coalitions. The four case studies are based on extensive field work, archival research, and interviews.;This dissertation seeks to explain why these four governments repudiated their earlier policies of sound forest management, and authorized logging practices that quickly depleted their production forests, while granting heavy subsidies to logging firms. It also seeks to explain why one of these states--the Philippines--reversed course in the late 1980's and implemented far-reaching reforms. It argues that in each case, forest policies were changed in response to the rise of resource rents; and that these rents created incentives for rulers to use logging permits as a type of political patronage. It also argues that reform may occur when resource rents are still available, provided that the political costs of forest misuse exceed the benefits, and alternative forms of patronage are available.