The Economic Impact of Timber Utilization Research

There is much discussion today of the expenditure of public funds for research. In the Resource Planning Act and other planning processes, better means are needed to evaluate the benefits of timber utilization research. Without such information, the advocates of utilization research are at a disadvantage when competing for scarce public funding resources. This study presents one means for analyzing the benefits of forest products research by determining its impact on softwood timber utilization. Seven groups of technologies were analyzed, including lumber production and use, panel products production, and pulp and paper production. Results of this analysis indicate that expenditures on timber utilization research have been well justified. In fact, the benefits from the seven technologies analyzed justify the expenditure for all utilization and timber management research.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member