Boom-and-Bust Development Patterns Across the Amazon Deforestation Frontier

Abstract

Boom and Bust The Brazilian Amazon is renowned for its biodiversity and for its influence on climate regulation and geochemical cycles. It is also one of the country's poorest regions. For decades, much economic development has been pursued through conversion of forest for agriculture and cattle-ranching. Rodrigues et al. (p. 1435 ) investigated whether this pattern of land use brings lasting prosperity by analyzing data on the economic development of nearly 300 municipalities across the deforestation frontier. Relative development, in terms of life expectancy, literacy, and standard of living, increases as deforestation begins but then declines again as the frontier passes through. As a result, pre- and postfrontier levels of development are similarly low, indicating a pattern of boom and bust.