Econometric analysis of social interactions in the production decisions of private forest owners

This article analyses private forest owners timber supply, taking individual and regional determinants into account, and investigates whether the drivers of forest owners behaviour differ within and between these different levels, due to peer effects. From a unique database of French private forest owners from a survey carried out in 1999, harvest decision and harvesting intensity are simultaneously estimated by a multilevel selection model. It allows us to identify social interactions: endogenous, contextual and correlated effects. Results show that forest owners with the same characteristics may behave differently, depending on the dynamism of the timber sector and the forest environment.