The Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This article analyzes the determinants of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon using data from 316 municipalities (counties) during the period 1975 to 1985. Two different measures of deforestation are derived, one based on satellite photos and one based on land surveys. The two measures are consistent with each other but are more conservative than most estimates found in previous studies. Both deforestation measures are used in a series of deforestation regressions, which indicate that local economic forces are now more important than federal development policy. Thus, although the federal government cer tainly initiated the deforestation process with ambitious road-building and development programs, it may now have lost control to local market forces.