The economics of managing carbon via forestry: Assessment of existing studies

The purpose of this paper is to assess the existing studies on the economics of using forests as a means of mitigating atmospheric carbon build-up. This assessment addresses conceptual and empirical issues and provides a basis for a comprehensive and cost efficient forest management strategy. Critical needs and opportunities for future research are identified.     

Stimulating Private Sector Development in China: The Emergence of Enterprise Development Centres in Liaoning and Sichuan Provinces

The private sector is becoming an increasingly important part of the Chinese economy. This has been recognized in the SME Promotion Law of 2003, which provides a policy rationale for public support for small and medium enterprises operating in the private sector. One aspect of government support for private enterprise development highlighted in that Law is the creation of enabling institutions and support systems for small and medium enterprises at municipal level. This article examines a series of enterprise development centres that have been established in China since 2000, and explores the implications for government support for and future development of private smaller enterprises in China.     

We need to talk about strategy: How to conduct effective strategic dialogue

As researchers and consultants, we have spent the last few years helping a dozen major public and private organizations understand what went wrong with their strategic planning. We discovered that executives have a hard time with strategy because they are at a loss when the time comes to engage in strategic dialogue. Either their teams debate the organization’s values and goals when such issues should be settled, or they waste time on the details of specific projects that have yet to receive the green light. But whether the conversation is too broad or too narrow, strategy stays out of view. Drawing on recent developments in strategy-as-practice and decision-making literature, we propose a model that executives can follow to take control of strategy meetings and keep their teams on track. We ask them to focus on the right decision purpose, adjust the meeting’s communication style, and cast the right leader for the job. When these three simple rules are followed, the pillars of successful dialogue are aligned, and executives can finally talk about what matters most to them: strategy.     

Sustainability in forest management: An evolving concept

Sustainability in forest management is both a biological and socioeconomic concept. Originating in 18th century Europe with the aim of avoiding social and economic disruptions associated with timber shortages, sustained-yield forest management evolved to a highly technical process of modeling growth, mortality, and risk in order to set timber removals at a level that theoretically could be maintained in perpetuity. Changing scientific understanding of the ecological functioning of forest ecosystems has challenged the notion that a sustained yield of timber is equivalent to sustaining all the components and natural processes necessary to maintain the long-term health and productivity of these ecosystems. Continuing uncertainty over what is socially and economically acceptable, as well as ecologically sustainable, will make optimality in forest management a much more difficult objective than in the past.