Rules and Exceptions: Regulatory Challenges to Private Tree Felling in Northern India

Sale of trees from privately owned forest patches is an important source of income for smallholders in developing countries. These private stands are scattered across mixed-use landscapes that include valuable public forests, presenting monitoring and enforcement challenges for state agencies and unique opportunities for traders and farmers to circumvent regulations. We use spatial econometric models and matching methods to show how traders in northern India exploit gaps in regulatory policy, with potential for illegal and pre-mature harvesting of trees. Our findings suggest collusion among traders, large landowners, and local forest officials, especially at higher distances from the location of regulatory offices.