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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2025, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (9): 211-222.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20240475

• Research papers • Previous Articles    

Analysis of the Impact of the New Round of Collective Forest Tenure Reform on the Growth of Export Margins of China’s Wood-Based Forest Product

Zhenghuang Shi1,fangmiao Hou1,*(),Haokun Zhang1,Guoxing Huang2   

  1. 1. College of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University Beijing 100083
    2. Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091
  • Received:2024-08-06 Online:2025-09-25 Published:2025-10-10
  • Contact: fangmiao Hou E-mail:houfangmiao@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective: This study aims to investigate the mechanisms through which the new round of collective forest tenure reform (hereinafter referred to as“new forest reform”) affects the marginal growth of China’s wood-based forest product exports, thereby providing scientific evidence for deepening forest tenure reform and promoting the high-quality development of forest product trade. Method: Drawing on six-digit bilateral trade data from China Customs and the United Nations Trade Database from 2000 to 2022, this study employs a export ternary margins decomposition method to analyze export growth and constructs a year-province-destination country panel dataset. Taking the new forest reform as a quasi-natural experiment and using manufacturing as a control group, the study applies a double machine (DML) approach to evaluate the impact of the reform on the marginal growth of wood-based forest product exports. Result: 1) An increase in domestic timber supply substitutes for imported timber, with demand for imported timber being significantly more elastic than for domestic timber. 2) The new forest reform significantly increases the export share, extensive margin, and quantity margin of wood-based forest products, while significantly reducing the price margin. 3) The reform promotes marginal export growth by enhancing domestic timber supply and enabling domestic timber supply and enabling substitution of imports with domestic timber. 4) In terms of heterogeneity, the reform has a stronger positive effect on capital- and technology-intensive wood-based product exports compared to labor-intensive products, and its impact is more pronounced in southern forest regions than in non-southern regions. Conclusion: The new forest reform has a significant incentivizing effect on the forestry industry, effectively driving the marginal growth of wood-based forest product exports, reducing dependence on external timber resources, and strengthening national timber security. In the future, it is essential to enhance top-level design, leveraging the new forest reform to better coordinate natural resource management, industrial policies, and trade policies, thereby advancing the high-quality development of forestry.

Key words: new round of collective forest tenure reform, wood forest products, export ternary margins, collective forest, double machine learning

CLC Number: