United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical 

Report

PNW-GTR-620

October 2004

An Assessment of Growth 

and Development Paths 

for Southeast Alaska

Pete Tsournos and Richard W. Haynes
The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of 

multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, 

water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the 

States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National 

Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to 

a growing Nation.

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call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA is committed to making its information materials accessible to all USDA customers 

and employees.

Authors

Pete Tsournos is an assistant professor, Department of Economics, California State 

University-Chico, Chico, CA 95929-0430; and Richard W. Haynes is a research 

forester, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research 

Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208.
Abstract

Tsournos, Pete; Haynes, Richard W. 2004. An assessment of growth and development paths for southeast Alaska. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-620. Portland, 

OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research 

Station. 27 p.

The intuitive explanation for why an economy grows or develops often involves 

the ways in which land (resources), labor, and capital interact. Here we review the 

literature for what is known about the different pathways for economic growth and 

development in resource-abundant regions. We discuss the effectiveness of the forest products industry as a determinant of economic development and how comparative advantages of different forest goods and services have changed. Much of our 

discussion is based on southeast Alaska where the development of a forest products 

industry was seen as offering potential economic opportunities that would increase 

the stability of local communities. The experience of the last several decades there 

suggests that a more comprehensive strategy than just the development of a timber 

industry is required to sustain economic growth. 

Keywords: Economic development, southeast Alaska, Tongass National Forest.

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An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

Introduction

One intuitive explanation (sometimes called neo-Malthusian) for why an economy 

grows or develops describes an interaction among land (resources), labor, and capital. Often the discussion centers on equating economic growth with more outputs 

based on greater utilization of land (resources), labor, and capital.1 Economists (see 

Kindleberger 1965, for an example) view growth and development synonymously, 

but distinguish a case where more outputs are produced from another case where 

there are more outputs as well as changes in technical and institutional arrangements by which they are produced. In this paper we generally follow this latter distinction as it is difficult to disentangle the two sources of change. There are different theories about the causes of economic growth, but one enduring theme has been 

the role that land (or other natural resources) plays in determining the propensity 

for economic growth. This is the theme that is central to this paper where our focus 

is on the changing role of forests as a determinant of economic growth in southeast 

Alaska. 

The forestry profession has long been concerned with the role that forests play 

in the economic development of a region and its associated communities. This is 

often expressed as a concern about community stability. The early manifestation of 

this concern was from foresters who argued for forest management, advocating that 

the sustained flows of timber coming from managed forests would provide a stable 

level of jobs and income for residents of communities near (or in) managed forests. 

The events of the 20th century have suggested a more ambiguous view where the 

relations between the management of forest resources and the stability of resourcebased communities are described as being both complicated and ever-changing (see 

SAF 1989 for a discussion). Nevertheless, advocates of increasing or maintaining 

sawtimber2 outputs have argued that development of forest resources offers some 

areas an opportunity for economic growth. 

One example of where a forest-based economic development strategy was tried 

is in southeast Alaska. There policymakers and various publics advocated intensive 

utilization of timber resources in the Tongass National Forest to promote forestbased economic development in the communities of southeast Alaska (Byers 1960, 

Crone 2004). A distinguishing characteristic of the southeast Alaska economy is the 

role of the extractive-resource-dependent industries (forestry, fishing, and mining). 

1

 Land (resources), labor, and capital are the traditional three inputs to the production process. 

Capital often refers to a capital good that is itself an output of the economy such as wealth. In 

contemporary usage it also includes human capital.

2

 Sawtimber is defined as trees or logs cut from trees with minimum diameter and length and 

with stem quality suitable for conversion to lumber. 
2

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

For the state of Alaska, the petroleum industry recently (1970 to late 1990s) 

has grown in importance, contributing about 36 percent to GSP 3 in 1996. Nonpetroleum industries, commercial fishing, logging, and mining accounted for 10 

percent of GSP in 1996 (USDC BEA 2001). Although the nonpetroleum industries 

generate less GSP than oil does, they tend to employ more people (ISER 1997). 

As of 1995, resource-dependent industries accounted for 23 percent of total employment in southeast Alaska, whereas employment within the manufacturing 

sector—net of wood products, mining, and fishing—accounted for only 5 percent 

of total employment (Allen et al. 1998). 

Between 1992 and 1999 Alaska exhibited the second slowest growth in the 

Nation at 0.5 percent. In earlier decades, per capita income has exceeded the 

national average by as much as 48 percent. However, Alaska per capita income 

fell below the national average for the first time in 1998 (Marple’s 1999–2000). 

The same trends can be observed for the rural communities of southeast Alaska. 

Prior to 1990, the southeast Alaska economy enjoyed relatively stable economic 

expansion as shown by the upward trend in personal income during the period 

1969–1990 in figure 1. However, figure 1 also indicates that personal income 

stagnated or even slightly declined during the 1990s.

Like many regions that depend heavily on the production of primary resource 

exports, and that have experienced stagnant economic growth, Alaska is once again 

looking to initiate labor-intensive growth of value-added manufactured wood 

products to promote development, job creation, and economic growth within the 

region. However, academic studies and past policy failures indicate that there may 

be limitations to intensive development of resources as a vehicle to promote regional growth and development. 

This paper reviews the general literature about the different pathways for 

economic growth and development in resource-abundant regions. Second, the 

inferences that emerge from this review will be used to set the context for a discussion of the situation in southeast Alaska, which has been seen as a place where the 

development of a forest products industry offers potential economic development 

activities that would increase the stability of local communities. Finally, we examine whether barriers to growth exist in southeast Alaska, thereby limiting resource 

utilization as a strategy to promote economic activity. 

3

 GSP is analogous to Gross Domestic Product or Gross National Product in that it is a 

measure of the value of all the goods and services produced in an economy in a given 

year but differs in that it measures the output of a state rather than the entire nation. 
3

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

Interregional Growth Differentials

Economists have long recognized the existence of interregional inequality in 

investment, capital accumulation, and economic growth. The persistence of 

income, production, and growth disparities between developed and undeveloped 

economies (described both in terms of lower levels of outputs and lower levels 

of technical and institutional arrangements used in production) is often referred 

to as the North-South problem.4 It is important to recognize that many of the 

characteristics of the underdeveloped regions described in the case of Alaska are 

simultaneously causes and consequences of being undeveloped. Both Myrdal 

(1957) and Hirschman (1958) investigated spatial and location development, seeking 

to discover why some locations prosper and develop while others remain poor and 

undeveloped. They point out that once a “growth pole” emerges, growth will 

continue because of circular causation. To minimize transport cost, firms locate 

near their customers, and individuals prefer to locate near firms and economic 

4 Early researchers noted that interregional growth disparities often occurred between the 

northern and southern regions of a country, as observed in the United States, Italy, Brazil, 

and elsewhere. Despite the fact that this generalization does not hold true for all countries in 

which interregional disparities exist, North is used in the literature to denote the developed 

region, whereas South denotes the undeveloped region.

Figure 1—Southeast Alaska personal income, 1969–1996. Note: Nominal values deflated by using 

the national consumer price index (CPI). Source: USDC BEA 2002.
4

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

opportunities. Myrdal and Hirschman both point to agglomeration economies, 

defined as the cheapening of production or marketing resulting from firms locating 

relatively close to one another, as reasons for developed areas to continue growing 

and attracting firms, investment, and human capital, whereas undeveloped regions 

continue to stagnate. 

Although the mechanisms of interregional growth disparity are not well 

understood, the avenues of economic growth are essentially the same for both 

advanced and developing regions. A society can increase real output in two fundamental ways. First, existing supplies of resources must be used more efficiently. 

This entails eliminating unemployed resources and achieving greater efficiency in 

the allocation of resources. Next, increasing the supply of productive resources can 

increase output. By expanding the supplies of raw materials, capital equipment, 

effective labor, and technological knowledge, a region can increase its production. 

However, in underdeveloped regions, obstacles often exist to altering the quantities 

and improving efficiency in the use of natural resources, human resources, capital 

goods, and technology. 

Economists often argue that an important focal point of economic development 

is the accumulation of capital goods. There are several reasons for emphasizing 

capital formation as a key factor determining economic growth. All undeveloped 

regions suffer from a critical shortage of capital goods—factories, machinery and 

equipment, public utilities, and infrastructure. This lack of capital and the lack of 

resulting infrastructures contribute to lower levels of productivity of the undeveloped regions. One basic means of increasing labor productivity, for example, is to 

provide each worker with more tools and equipment. Once initiated, the process of 

capital formation may be cumulative. If capital accumulation can increase output 

ahead of population growth, a margin of savings may arise that permits further 

capital accumulation. Regions accumulate capital through the process of saving 

and investment. A region must save or refrain from consumption so that resources 

for the production of consumer goods can be applied to the production of capital 

goods. However, the impediments to saving and investment tend to be greater 

in undeveloped regions than in advanced economies. The investment side of the 

capital formation process often presents obstacles that undermine the rate of capital 

accumulation even when a sufficient volume of savings is available to finance the 

needed investment.

Existing firms may lack the incentive or ability to upgrade existing operations, 

and potential investors may find more attractive investment opportunities to produce manufactured wood products in competing regions. Assuming perfect mobility of capital, a risk-averse firm will choose to invest in a location if the expected 

Avenues of economic 

growth are essentially 

the same for both 

advanced and 

developing regions.
5

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

profits in that location exceed the expected profits of all other locations. Many 

underdeveloped regions simply do not have a sufficient accumulation of the basic 

social capital (the public utilities) that is prerequisite to private investment of a productive nature. Poor or inadequate transportation systems, limited gas and electricity production, dated communication systems, limited or unsatisfactory housing, 

and inadequate educational and public health facilities do not provide an inviting 

environment for investment. 

Although capital accumulation and investment are significant in explaining 

interregional growth disparity, economists seeking a more complete understanding 

of economic development have expanded their focus by examining the role of 

natural capital. For example, the origins of modern economic growth and industrial 

success of the United States from 1879 to 1940 have been strongly linked to the 

abundance and exploitation of natural resources (Romer 1996, Wright 1990). In 

1913, the United States was the world leader in the production of 14 major industrial 

materials including copper, coal, zinc, iron ore, and lead. The most pronounced 

disparity in resource endowments between the United States and the rest of the 

world appeared in the production of natural gas and petroleum, where the United 

States produced 95 and 65 percent of the world’s output of natural gas and petroleum, respectively (Wright 1990). Cheap and well-developed transportation also 

existed, effectively linking the population of the United States within one large 

market. Thus, entrepreneurs and inventors were encouraged to develop and invest 

in specialized machinery, standardized goods, and interchangeable parts necessary 

for long production runs that exploited natural resources and energy. The high cost 

to design and set up industrialized production was more than offset by the abundance of inexpensive natural resources and energy and access to a large market 

composed of consumers with homogenous tastes (Romer 1996, Wright 1990). 

However, there is no simple generalization with respect to the role of natural 

resources in the economic development of regions. As Gavin Wright (1990) notes, 

“There is no iron law associating natural resource abundance with national industrial strength.”

The success of the United States notwithstanding, it has been observed that 

resource-abundant regions tend to lag behind resource-poor regions in terms of 

economic growth, development, and industrialization. Neary and Van Wijnbergen 

(1986) note:

A striking feature of the world economy in the 1970s and 1980s has 

been the frequency and magnitude of the shocks to many economies 

as a result of changes in the price or availability of natural resources. 
6

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

Resource-poor countries have suffered of course, but, paradoxically, 

resource-rich countries have not been immune. Resource-based 

booms have frequently been blamed for a tendency towards “deindustrialization,” while the macroeconomic performance of many 

countries with large resource sectors has been less than satisfactory. 

The following section is a review of the literature that examines the role of 

natural resources in economic development. 

Natural Resources, Geography, Economic Growth, 

and Development

Dutch Disease, Comparative Advantage, and Trade

There is no simple explanation for the role of natural resources in the economic 

development of regions. Murphy et al. (1989) explore the possibility in which some 

sort of “big push” or large shift in demand5 can expand the size of the market so 

that entrepreneurs will find it profitable to incur the fixed costs of industrialization; this big push is often lacking in underdeveloped regions. For entrepreneurs to 

be willing to make this transition, they must expect that other entrepreneurs will 

also want to industrialize so that increasing returns can accrue owing to agglomeration effects. Increased public spending, foreign aid, discovery of minerals, or 

a rise in world prices of natural resources may all provide the big push needed to 

stimulate demand and investment and serve as a catalyst for development in poorer 

economies. Some undeveloped regions have been able to use their natural resource 

endowments to achieve rapid growth. Sachs and Warner (1998, 1999) note that an 

important factor in development is the transition from cottage industry to factory 

production. After controlling for other factors that affect growth, Sachs and Warner (1998, 1999) show that natural resource booms can stimulate industrialization. 

However, a strong resource base does not always ensure economic growth to a 

region; it can also impede or reverse industrialization. 

Evidence from 23 case studies, collected by Collier and Willem (1999), in 

which developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America experienced a 

resource boom across a wide spectrum of resource commodities in both the 

agriculture and mining sectors, suggests that external trade shocks tend to be 

5 Murphy et al. explore the Rosenstein-Rodan (1943, 1961) notion that if various sectors of 

the economy adopted increasing returns-to-scale technology simultaneously, they could each 

create income that becomes a source of demand for goods in other sectors, and so enlarge their 

markets and make industrialization profitable.
7

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

problematic. The theory of Dutch disease6 is used to describe the boom-and-bust 

phenomenon associated with trade shocks that stem from a temporary increase in 

the price of natural resources or a new discovery of natural resources. Output is 

enhanced during the trade shock, but output decreases in the postshock period often 

leading to financial crisis within a country. The Dutch disease can be generalized 

as follows: in an economy with a tradable manufacturing sector, a tradable natural resource sector, and a nontraded (service) sector, the extra income generated 

by a boom in the resource sector results in an increase in consumption. The extra 

income leads to an increase in demand for the nontraded service sector, increasing the price in the nontraded service sector relative to the traded manufacturing 

sector, thus leading to resources being reallocated from the manufacturing sector 

to the service sector. The crux of the argument requires that agents with imperfect 

information react as if the gain in income from the resource shock is permanent 

rather than temporary, resulting in excessive consumption and inadequate saving 

and investment. However, there is a growing body of Dutch disease research in 

which the mechanism that draws resources from the traded manufacturing sector 

to the nontraded service sector is based on applied learning or other technological 

or pecuniary economies-of-scale arguments rather than the misinterpretation of the 

temporal nature of the resource shock.

Sachs and Warner (1999) conclude that the timing of the natural resource 

booms as well as the sectoral distribution of increasing returns may determine 

whether a big push in the natural resource sector is effective in stimulating the 

economy. In an economy with a tradable natural resource sector, a tradable manufacturing sector, and a nontraded (service) sector, Sachs and Warner (1999) derive 

results that show that the greater the natural resource endowment, the higher the 

demand for nontradable goods and services and the smaller the allocation of labor 

and capital to the manufacturing industry. Tradable production is concentrated in 

the primary production of natural resource goods rather than the production of secondary or manufactured goods. Capital and labor that otherwise may be employed 

in the manufacturing sector, assumed by the authors to exhibit increasing returns 

to scale, are devoted to the production of the nontraded service goods sector that 

is assumed to be characterized by constant returns to scale. Because resource 

booms stimulate nonincreasing returns-to-scale service sectors rather than increasing-returns-to-scale manufacturing sectors, resource-abundant regions should 

6 The term Dutch disease originated in Holland when it was observed that the deindustrialization of the nation’s economy occurred when the discovery of North Sea gas raised the value of 

that nation’s currency, making Holland’s manufactured goods less competitive with those of 

other nations, increasing imports, and decreasing exports.
8

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

achieve slower economic growth than resource-poor countries. Sachs and Warner 

present evidence that natural-resource-abundant countries tend to have a larger service sector, smaller manufacturing sectors, and slower growth than resource-poor 

countries. 

Edward Leamer (1987) and Bowen et al. (1987) similarly conclude that resource-abundant regions may never develop diverse economies. Leamer (1987) 

examines the relation between resource abundance and the paths of development 

within a general equilibrium (GE) economic model. General equilibrium models are widely used, and they are designed to examine many industries and many 

consumers simultaneously. Typically, the consumers own two factors of production 

including human-made capital and their own labor, and they sell these factors to the 

industries, which use them to produce consumer goods. The consumers purchase 

these goods by using the incomes they obtained by selling their factors of production. Thus the economy is a circular flow of goods and factors in one direction and 

money in the other direction. The outputs from a GE model include the prices of 

the factors of production—that is, wages for labor and rents for capital, the prices 

of the consumer goods, the allocation of the factors across industries, the consumers’ incomes, and the industries’ profits. By including resources as a third factor of 

production, which is not typically done in the more traditional GE models that use 

capital and labor only, Leamer (1987) shows the possibility of many different paths 

of development. Within the Leamer model, capital accumulation is shown to induce 

changes in goods, trade, and the returns to factors that depend on the abundance 

of resources relative to labor, thereby resulting in development paths of resourceabundant countries that will be quite different from resource-scarce countries. 

Resource-abundant countries may never produce manufactured or value-added 

products. Complete specialization in land-intensive products occurs, and if capital 

accumulation takes place at all, development paths will show a shift away from 

labor-intensive to capital-intensive production of primary resource goods. 

Geography—Agglomeration, Climate, and Firm 

Location

Agglomeration economies may be either internal or external economies. One 

centrally located firm may achieve economies of scale that could not be achieved 

by many smaller, dispersed producers. As many firms agglomerate, as a group they 

may be able to realize lower input prices that may shift or lower cost curves. This is 

because when many firms within an industry locate within a concentrated area, it is 

advantageous for other firms to specialize in providing services to the concentrated 

industry and to locate near the concentrated industry. Interdependency between 
9

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

the industry and intermediate or input firms may develop. Concentration of several 

firms within an industry also offers a pooled market of workers with industry-specific skills. Finally, a developed area may provide vital infrastructure and utilities 

to firms that may not be available in undeveloped regions. 

In a series of work, Krugman (1991a, 1991b, 1992) reemphasized the importance and role of geography in economics. Krugman attempted to formally model 

and explain the role of increasing returns to scale in location decisions of firms. 

Krugman models a two-region, two-product economy. Agricultural products are 

produced with constant returns to scale, whereas manufactured production achieves 

increasing returns to scale. All individuals are assumed to possess identical utility 

functions for both the agricultural and manufactured goods. Krugman concluded 

that the tendency of geographical concentration and divergence between the two 

regions depends on the fraction of population within the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, the degree of economies of scale, and transportation costs. With 

lower transportation costs, a higher manufacturing share, or stronger economies of 

scale, circular causation sets in, and manufacturing will concentrate in whichever 

region gets a headstart.

Krugman (1991a, 1991b, 1992) emphasizes that equilibrium conditions may 

be stable for long periods, but that they can change rapidly if key conditions or 

parameters change. For example, Krugman believes that an individual’s expectations of employment and economic opportunities may lead to shifts of population 

from one region to another. This is sometimes called the job-first strategy. This 

shift in population may create a growth pole in which employers, development, 

and prosperity follow the migration of workers expecting better opportunities in 

previously undeveloped regions.

Radelet and Sachs (1998) investigate the role of geographic location for countries wishing to initiate labor-intensive, export-led growth in manufactured goods 

as a strategy for economic growth and development. They examine the relations 

among shipping costs, wages, and competitiveness in international trade to determine the possible relation between geography and long-run economic growth. Shipping costs differ widely across countries because some countries are located farther 

from major markets, incur extra costs of transferring between modes of transportation, and have poor port capacity, infrastructure, and administration. Radelet and 

Sachs (1998) also point out that the most important consequence of high shipping 

costs is the detrimental impact on firms’ competitiveness in international markets: 

For small countries that exert little impact on world prices, the 

higher the shipping costs, the more that firms will have to pay for 

imported intermediate goods, and the less they will receive for their 

Equilibrium conditions 

may be stable for 

long periods but 

change rapidly if key 

conditions change.
10

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

exports. More specifically, if a country faces a perfectly elastic supply of imports or a perfectly elastic demand for its exports (approximately the case for most developing-country manufactured exports), 

changes in shipping costs will be translated one-for-one into changes 

in domestic prices. In competitive global markets, higher transport 

costs would have to be offset either by lower wages or by reduced 

costs somewhere else in the production process to allow firms to 

compete. In most labor intensive manufactured export activities, 

where profit margins are thin, and imported inputs constitute a high 

proportion of total output value, small differences in shipping costs 

can spell the difference between profitability and loss in export 

markets. 

In a simple numerical example comparing a prototypical firm producing 

labor-intensive manufactured exports in a low-transport-cost coastal region to a 

high-transport-cost landlocked economy, Radelet and Sachs show that a 6-percent 

differential in shipping costs would offset one-third of domestic value added for 

export products. Assuming that domestic value added represents substantially wage 

costs, the wage rate must be reduced by about two-thirds for these products to be 

competitive with low-transport-cost regions in competitive world markets. Given 

that shipping costs can have a huge impact on value-added export markets and 

profitability when considering labor-intensive manufactured exports, Radelet and 

Sachs (1998) conclude that high-transport-cost regions will have difficulty promoting value-added export products/industries. They test the hypothesis that countries 

with higher shipping costs are less likely to attract investment in export activities, 

and thus their domestic firms would tend to be less competitive in international 

markets. By testing the relation between the explanatory variables of geography, 

government policy, shipping costs, and net natural resource exports, and the dependent variable, annual average growth of total exports as a share of gross domestic 

product, Radelet and Sachs (1998) form a basic conclusion that geographic isolation 

and higher shipping costs may make it more difficult, if not impossible, for relatively isolated, developing countries to succeed in promoting labor-intensive manufactured exports. Firms from such countries will likely have to pay lower wages to 

workers and accept smaller returns for higher shipping costs. 

Extreme climates and geography may also present significant obstacles to 

harvesting, extraction, and production of resources. Sedjo et al. (1998)7 note that 

7 Sedjo et al. made a distinction between old growth (inaccessible, difficult terrain, and 

accessible flat terrain) and second growth (managed and unmanaged). 
11

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

timber and logging practices differ depending on the species, tree size, location, 

and terrain. As access to native or old-growth forests has become more difficult, 

many regions have relied on second-growth managed forest and exotic plantations. 

Second-growth managed forests and exotic plantation forests typically involve 

harvesting relatively large volumes of small- to medium-sized homogeneous trees 

on accessible sites that commonly have transportation, mechanized planting, and 

harvesting in place. Because second-growth forests and native or old-growth forests 

differ in terrain, stand homogeneity, volumes of timber per unit of land, and logging approaches, it follows that logging costs will differ across alternative site 

conditions. Figure 2, reproduced from Sedjo et al. (1998), provides a schematic of 

alternative logging situations and the corresponding logging and transportation 

costs. Figure 2 shows that logging and transportation costs for difficult-to-access or 

inaccessible areas, or for larger pieces (or logs) associated with native or old-growth 

forests are significantly higher than costs realized on second-growth managed and 

unmanaged sites, high-yield plantations, and fiber farm sites. 

Figure 2—Logging and transportation costs across various forest site conditions (Sedjo et al. 1998).
12

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

Many studies have investigated the relation between state characteristics and 

the location of foreign direct investment (Coughlin et al. 1991, Friedman et al. 1993, 

Woodward 1992). Like all firms, it is assumed that foreign national corporations 

seek branch locations with the highest payoffs. These authors share a common 

approach in which the probability of selecting a specific state for foreign direct 

investment depends on the levels of the characteristics that affect profits relative to 

the levels of these characteristics in other states. In summarizing the research on 

the location of foreign direct investment by using the conditional logit framework, 

Friedman et al. (1993) identify market size, manufacturing wage rate, transportation 

infrastructure, and state promotional activities as the most important factors that 

influence investment location. Friedman et al. (1993) further elaborate:

Domestic (U.S.A.) market potential and access to foreign markets 

are positive and important influences on foreign location. States with 

large market potential offer well-developed infrastructure, transportation facilities, agglomeration economies, and access to important 

customer markets. Regions benefiting from market potential and an 

influx of foreign manufacturing plants are the Middle Atlantic, Pacific, and East North Central. Higher manufacturing wages relative 

to other states were a significant detriment to attracting foreign direct investment. Although states cannot affect their market size and 

wage structure in the short run, they can still improve their chances 

by promoting themselves to foreign multinational corporations. 

Labor productivity, although included in only two of the papers, was 

a positive and significant influence on the location of foreign direct 

investment.

Zhang (1997) also investigates inward and outward foreign direct investment 

for the U.S. forest industry. For the period 1981 to 1995, Zhang found that foreign 

direct investment in the U.S. forest industry increased by 54 percent while U.S. 

direct investment abroad increased nearly 100 percent. Furthermore, the U.S. forest 

industry only attracted 25 percent of the amount of foreign direct investment in the 

Canadian forest industry despite the fact that the U.S. industry is six times as large 

as the Canadian forest industry. Foreign investors in the United States and other 

countries are more likely to invest in the paper and allied products sector rather 

than in the wood products sector because of (a) a greater ability for product differentiation relative to lumber, (b) economies of scale, (c) imperfect competition, 

(d) unfamiliarity with U.S. softwood lumber and panel products, and (e) preference 

for capital-intensive investments because income and other benefits of large plants 
13

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

offset disadvantages of operation in foreign countries. Zhang (1997) assumes that 

in making investment decisions, both foreign and domestic investors are guided 

primarily by the expected financial performance of the industry relative to other 

possible investments. Zhang hypothesizes that foreign investors are attracted to 

invest in the United States because of relatively stable political and economic 

systems and large U.S. markets. On the other hand, Zhang believes that U.S. firms 

invest abroad because of the continuing decline in domestic timber availability. 

More specifically, Zhang states that the listing of several endangered species such 

as the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) has had a negative impact 

on timber supply and has sent investors to other countries. 

Policy of Resource Utilization and Regional Growth

Historically, federal, state, and local governments, regional planners, and academics alike have held that intensive utilization of resources is a means to establish 

economic growth in relatively underdeveloped areas that are rich in resources. In 

the early 1960s, Westoby (1978) promoted the notion that sustained utilization of 

forest resources in the wood products industry could directly and indirectly provide 

significant contributions to the economic development of a region.8 Westoby (1978) 

hypothesized that establishing a wood products industry would not only directly 

benefit a region by creating jobs, providing income, and expanding infrastructure 

within the local community but that the positive impacts would be multiplied by 

the complex system of backward and forward linkages9 that would also follow. 

Backward linkages and additional economic activity would occur as the forest 

products industry demands for raw materials and manufactured goods and services 

that serve as inputs to production were supplied by local producers. Furthermore, 

forward linkages would be established as downstream producers demanded wood 

product inputs in the production of final goods and service. Additional multiplier 

effects10 would take place as additional income was created by employees of the 

wood products industry purchasing local goods and services from businesses 

unrelated to the forest products industry. However, the evidence from decades of 

8

 Westoby’s definition of sustainability in the sense of sustained flows of forest products is 

now considered only a subset of the broader set of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest 

management being used in various international agreements that guide forest management. 

9

 In contemporary usage, this refers to the contributions of an individual industry to the complexity of an economy. Those industries that have extensive connections (or dependencies) to 

other economic sectors are thought of as being more advantageous. 

10 Economists consider two types of multiplier effects. In the first type, they consider the 

direct job and income impacts associated with a specific economic activity. In the second 

type, they consider the indirect (or induced) job and income impacts. The size and existence 

of the latter types of impacts have been hotly debated within the economics literature. 
14

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

promoting sustained forest utilization suggests that a strong resource base does 

not always ensure economic growth to a region, but it can also impede or reverse 

industrialization. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, the World Bank, among other institutions, was heavily influenced by the prevailing notion that intense utilization of resources could 

improve the economic well-being of undeveloped countries. During this time, the 

World Bank’s role in forestry was providing loans for resource-utilization projects 

such as the establishment of fast-growing industrial plantations; providing credit 

for planting by private tree farmers, log extraction operations, pulp and paper mills; 

providing technical assistance for species/provenance trials; and strengthening forestry institutions (World Bank 1978). By the early 1990s, the World Bank had concluded that a strategy of resource utilization was not suitable for all regions. Important factors that influence suitable forest development include resource endowment, 

climate, population density and urbanization, predominant type of agriculture, forest ownership, level of development, forestry management practices, and the major 

source of household fuel. Forestry investment has often failed to promote economic 

activity and social welfare in overpopulated and undeveloped countries where there 

is immense pressure to overexploit wood-deficient or marginal lands for fuelwood, 

grazing, or agriculture, often resulting in adverse environmental impacts. 

The realization that forest resource utilization programs did not create the desired economic activity, regional development, and nonmarket benefits led Westoby 

(1978), the World Bank (1978), and others to recant the position of industry-oriented 

resource utilization as a means to promote economic activity (Haynes 1993). Surmising that continued uncontrolled forest exploitation could lead to serious environmental disruption and increased rural poverty, the World Bank now places a higher 

priority on promoting “people-oriented” social forestry programs. These programs 

are aimed at protecting forests, biodiversity, and ecosystems. Many attempts have 

been made to maintain microclimates, conserve soil in environmentally sensitive 

areas, and reforest eroded or destabilized areas. The goal of these activities is to 

promote rural development by establishing woodlots for fuelwood and small-scale 

industries that use wood; planting fruit, fodder, and fiber-producing trees; and 

building institutions that relate to the combined efforts of agroforestry and crop 

combinations. 

The limitations of natural resource utilization in promoting economic activities 

in relatively wood-abundant, undeveloped regions of a highly industrialized country 

such as the United States have also been noted. Kromm (1972) examined the regional economy in northern Michigan and concluded that the contributions of forest 

resources to the local economy were less than anticipated by advocates of intensive 

The limitations of 

using forests in 

promoting economic 

development have 

long been recognized.
15

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

use of forest resources. Kromm notes that regional infrastructure development and 

improvement such as highway building, powerplant construction, and other structural additions important in attracting investment rarely result from the expansion 

of forestry activity, given the modest structural requirements of most forest product 

industries. Furthermore, as wood processing plants become more capital intensive, 

the labor needed declines, potentially resulting in economic instability in the timberdependent regions. 

Kromm (1972) also concludes that opportunities for forward and backward 

linkages are limited for the forest products industry in sparsely populated timberdependent communities lacking commercial development. These limitations will 

weaken the multiplier effect. Forward linkages are not fully developed because few 

sizable forest product operations are locally owned. Much of the income is leaked 

out of the region rather than circulated throughout the local community. Further 

leaks occur as employees travel to distant commercial centers to purchase goods and 

services unavailable locally. Rural communities also provide limited market opportunities for local wood producers. Most products are exported from the region rather 

than serving as inputs into local downstream markets. Local inputs to production 

also are inadequately available to the forest product industry and typically account 

for a small percentage of the cost of production. Thus the possibility of establishing backward links is fairly limited. Some of these same issues will be associated 

with the development of alternative industries such as tourism and recreation that 

also depend on forest conditions. For example, the cruise ship industry in southeast 

Alaska is internationally owned and is provisioned in the ports (Vancouver, British 

Columbia or Seattle, Washington) where they originate.

Implications for Southeast Alaska 

The literature on natural resources, geography, economic growth, and development 

provides several lessons relevant to examining the relation between forestry and the 

economic situation of southeast Alaska. With the region’s economic well-being now 

closely tied to tourism and resource-dependent industries (fishing, forestry, and mining), it is not surprising that the periods of economic growth and stagnation closely 

correlate to the boom and decline in economic activity in these sectors. In this paper 

we look only at the forest sector. This is a sector that has dominated the manufacturing and service sectors in the southeast Alaska economy, lending additional support 

to Dutch disease and comparative advantage arguments. Earned income by industry 

in real terms and as a percentage of total economic activity and the growth rates for 

each sector for the 1969–89 and 1990–96 periods are reported in table 1. The changes in industry shares of total earned income are also summarized in figure 3. Table 
16

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

Figure 3—Industry shares in total earned income (by place of work). (Source: USDC BEA 2002.)

Table 1—Earned income by industry in rural southeast Alaska (by place of work)

1969 1990 1996 Annual growth

Sector Value Share Value Share Value Share 1969–89 1990–96

Thousand Thousand Thousand

dollars Percent dollars Percent dollars Percent - - Percent - - 

Government 111,689 23 205,689 23 207,554 26 3 0

Manufacturing 162,997 34 251,200 29 136,104 17 1 -9

Services 37,892 8 103,062 12 127,507 16 5 4

Retail trade 38,491 8 74,533 8 86,229 11 2 3

Construction 50,909 11 53,406 6 76,072 10 1 5

T.P.U.a 39,023 8 68,075 8 68,303 9 1 1

Forestry and fishing 16,256 3 82,968 9 52,610 7 8 -7

F.I.R.E.b 7,459 2 20,117 2 20,905 3 4 3

Wholesale trade 10,228 2 17,172 2 11,096 1 -1 -6

Mining 1,975 0 662 0 1,468 0 3 12

 Total 476,918 100 876,884 100 787,848 100 2 -1

Note: All dollar figures converted to 1995 dollars by using U.S. aggregate consumer price index.

a T.P.U. = transportation and public utilities. 

b F.I.R.E = finance, insurance, and real estate.

Source: USDC BEA 2002.
17

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

1 and figure 3 indicate that the manufacturing sector was the most important sector 

in the southeast Alaska economy, accounting for 34 percent of total earned income 

in 1969. From 1969 to 1989, the annual growth for the manufacturing industry was 

1 percent, and the southeast Alaska economy as a whole grew at an annual rate of 

2 percent. While the manufacturing sector remained the second largest sector in 

terms of earned income in 1996, the total real value and share of total economic 

activity both declined sharply between 1969–1990.11 From 1990 to 1996, the manufacturing sector, dominated by the wood products industry, contracted 9 percent 

annually, while the forestry-and-fishing sector declined by 7 percent annually. 

Many changes in the forest sector in southeast Alaska have contributed to this 

dramatic decline. A decline in demand resulting from reductions in economic activity and housing starts in Japan is one change. Increased competition from relatively 

low-cost high-productivity producers of both lumber and dissolving pulp in various 

competing regions is another. Third, changes in the ownership patterns of timberlands in southeast Alaska changed stumpage markets by reducing the impact of log 

export restrictions. The combination of these factors led to a decrease in demand 

for Tongass National Forest products, closure of the two pulp mills and associated 

sawmills, and a decline and downsizing of the primary wood products industry. 

At the same time, a nonresource manufacturing base has never established itself in 

southeast Alaska to offset production in the contracting resource-manufacturing 

sector. Declines in the manufacturing and forestry-and-fishing sectors in southeast 

Alaska offset the modest gains in the service-related sectors and led to contraction 

in total economic activity at the annual rate of 1 percent during 1990–96. The service sector now closely follows manufacturing as the most important private sector 

in the southeast Alaska economy.

The closure of the two pulp mills is particularly notable. These mills were established to serve as the catalyst for forest-based economic development through intensive utilization of timber resources in the Tongass National Forest. In the 1950s, 

advocates like Byers (1960) believed that establishing the two large dissolving mills 

would be the push needed to develop the potential of a timber industry in southeast 

Alaska. Crone (2004) also notes:

Because only 50 percent of the region’s over-mature forest would 

meet sawmill standards, most believed a viable wood products 

11 Alaska’s economy also differs sharply from other states in that it has a much smaller 

agricultural sector. In Washington in 2001, agriculture accounted for roughly $10.7 billion 

or 5.3 percent of the state’s output, whereas Oregon produced $7 billion accounting for 5.6 

percent of total output. On the other hand, Alaska agriculture is 3.4 percent of total output 

($839 million). This figure, however, includes fishing and forestry, which far outweigh 

farming and agriculture services. 
18

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

industry hinged on the development of a regional pulp industry. 

Champions of this development strategy for rural southeast Alaska 

included the [Forest Service’s] Regional Forester B. Frank Heintzelman, statehood proponents, both the U.S. State Department and the 

Department of Defense, and President Truman. 

In 1951, the Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC) established a pulp mill in Ketchikan, Alaska, and a Japanese-owned company, Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company 

(APC), built a pulp mill in Sitka, Alaska, in 1957. Although optimistic about the 

potential of establishing industrial forestry in Alaska, Byers (1960) also noted that 

many within and outside Alaska expressed concern about whether industrial timber 

production in southeast Alaska could be sustained, citing high wages, sparse population spread over a tremendous area, high taxes, and distance and high transportation costs to export markets as unfavorable conditions for attracting investment to 

the region. Pulp mills were granted a 50-year supply of subsidized timber and were 

exempt from state and local taxes to insure the viability of the pulp mill operations 

in a region of relatively high labor costs (Crone 2004). These incentives led to the 

establishment of two pulp mills and associated sawmills in southeast Alaska. These 

large sawmills competed with an active set of smaller, independent mills. Until the 

late 1970s, these sawmills produced both lumber (mostly baby squares [full sawn 

4 by 4 for the export market]) and cants that were exported to Japan. At that time 

Alaska was a leading west coast producer in the export market (see fig. 4, drawn 

from data in Warren 2003). This situation changed as harvesting started on timberlands belonging to Alaska Native corporations (established following the passage 

of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971). Much of this harvested timber 

was exported in log form (see fig. 5, drawn from data in Warren 2003), and the 

markets for cants and baby squares rapidly disappeared (see fig. 4). During the 

1990s, changes in ownership patterns, production in competing regions, and market 

conditions led to the closure of the pulp mills and a loss of utilization opportunities 

for lower quality logs common on sales in the Tongass National Forest. At the same 

time, declining private timber as well as weak markets in Japan led to declines in 

log exports (fig. 5).

Historically, timber industry employment in southeast Alaska was strongly 

tied to the macroeconomic fluctuations in its primary market, Japan, and to a lesser 

degree fluctuations in the U.S. economy. Prices, production, employment, and trade 

would rise during periods of economic expansion in Japan and fall during periods 

of economic contraction. The two pulp mill operators were able to offset losses during periods of unfavorable conditions in the pulp market with the higher revenues 

received when markets improved. However, Crone (in press) noted that by the early 
19

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

Figure 4—Volume of lumber exports from the west coast and Alaska (Warren 2003).

Figure 5—Volume of log exports to all countries and to Japan from Alaska (Warren 2003).
20

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

1990s, upturns in the pulp market were no longer enough to insure viability of the 

southeast Alaska pulp industry for several reasons: the Tongass Timber Reform Act 

(1990) revised the long-term contracts between the pulp mills and USDA Forest 

Service, essentially eliminating the subsidized or below-cost timber sales and thus 

increasing the cost of production; increased competition from petroleum-based 

synthetic fiber depressed the demand for dissolving pulp; and pulp production costs 

were also increasing because of increased environmental monitoring and regulation owing to concerns over dioxin released during the chlorinated pulp bleaching 

processes. Falling pulp prices, increasing production costs, and sustained losses 

eventually led to the closure of the Sitka APC mill in 1993 followed by the closure 

of the KPC mill in Ketchikan in 1997. 

Because Japan was the primary market for Alaska wood products and pulp, 

production and employment within the wood products industry fluctuated with 

the economic activity of Japan. Even during the peak of timber harvest in the late 

1980s, little progress was made toward developing a value-added industry in southeast Alaska. The lack of forward integration into value-added lumber products can 

partly be attributed to the old-growth characteristics of the Tongass National Forest. 

Some of the old-growth timber was of low quality, better suited to the production 

of pulp rather than lumber products. Furthermore, the closure of the pulp mills only 

compounded the problem for local lumber producers attempting to use or dispose of 

utility grade timber because pulp mills served as the primary outlet for low-grade 

logs (Crone, in press). 

However, the poor quality of some of the old-growth timber has not been the 

only obstacle deterring firms and potential investors from investing in value-added 

manufacturing plants. Evidence suggests that the current level and makeup of 

capital investment within the Alaska wood products industry may be inadequate 

for producers to be competitive in global markets for value-added products, despite 

efforts by both federal and state governments to promote timber-related industrialization since the 1950s. 

Kilborn (2000) states that there are only 30 sawmills actively producing lumber, despite the fact that over 200 mills exist in Alaska. The remaining mills are 

not competitive given the current plant equipment and market conditions. The 30 

active sawmills in Alaska can be grouped into three categories: (a) mills producing 

about 250 thousand board feet (MBF) of lumber annually, employing 1 to 2 employees with $120,000 in capital investment; (b) mills producing about 1,000 MBF of 

lumber products annually with 3 to 5 employees and about a $300,000 investment; 

(c) mills producing 10,000 MBF or greater annually, 10 or more employees, and 

with over a $2,500,000 investment. Although the 30 active sawmills have more than 

Even during the peak 

of timber harvest in 

the late 1980s, little 

progress was made 

toward developing a 

value-added industry 

in southeast Alaska.
21

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

adequate capacity to supply the existing markets within Alaska, Kilborn (2000) 

elaborates that many of the firms possess inadequate, dated, and underused equipment, which prevents the firms from producing acceptable lumber for the Alaska 

commodity market. The investment requirement for a sawmill to meet the Uniform 

Building Code specifications starts at roughly $120,000 for a small operation and 

increases to $300,000 and $2,500,000, respectively, for the medium and large firms. 

To justify such an investment, annual production for a small firm would need to 

meet or exceed production of 250 MBF; a medium firm would require 1,000 MBF 

of production; and a large firm would need 10,000 MBF to achieve modest profit 

margins (Kilborn 2000). 

Other disadvantages in attracting investment are distance from large markets, 

harsh climate, high costs, lack of human capital, and inadequate infrastructure 

(Marple’s 1999–2000). In the late 1990s, both Oregon and Washington experienced 

a sharp rise in the level of venture-capital investments. During that time a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey reported that investors poured $145 million and $907 

million into Oregon and Washington, respectively, for various venture-capital 

investments, while venture investments in the state of Alaska were too small or informal to show up in standard surveys of venture capitalists (Marple’s 1999–2000). 

Braden et al. (2000) concluded that interregional productivity and economiesof-scale differentials between Alaska and its closest competitors in the U.S. Pacific 

Northwest (PNW) and British Columbia, Canada, can be partially attributed to 

dated, underequipped sawmills. To be competitive in local commodity markets 

and global value-added manufactured product markets, the Alaska wood products 

industry must upgrade current facilities with additional capital investment of either 

their own money or money from venture capitalists, and business startups must be 

attracted into the state. Existing sawmills may lack the incentive or the ability to 

obtain capital to update current operations. 

The assessment of Braden et al. (2000) is supported by recent findings of 

Robertson and Brooks (2001) who showed that mills in Alaska used an average of 

3.6 hours of production worker labor per MBF of lumber output over the 1987–94 

period, while mills in the PNW used 2.7 hours. Brooks and Robertson believe that 

the most likely explanations for the higher labor intensity in logging production for 

Alaska are its remoteness and more difficult terrain that precludes the use of certain 

mechanized harvest operations. Furthermore, Robertson and Brooks show that logging production wages are higher in Alaska relative to the PNW. These high wages 

and low productivity mean costs of $24 more in labor to produce a MBF of lumber 

in Alaska than in the PNW.
22

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-620

In addition, because of cost advantages, a growing portion of the world’s 

industrial wood is coming from nontraditional wood regions such as Brazil, 

Chile, Venezuela, Uruguay, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, 

Spain, Portugal, Indonesia, and China. Many of these countries have become major 

producers in international markets and meet the demand of their own local economies. Not only do many of these regions enjoy cost advantages in logging activities, 

many of the regions enjoy labor cost, transportation cost, and foreign exchange rate 

advantages that are difficult to overcome in international markets.

The conclusion of Radelet and Sachs (1998) that regions with high transport 

costs have difficulty promoting value-added export industries has strong implications in promoting an export-based, value-added manufacturing strategy in southeast Alaska. Wisdom (1990) showed that the transportation costs for forest products 

from Alaska to Pacific Rim markets tend to be three to four times higher than 

shipping of similar products from the Puget Sound area. Furthermore, Robertson 

and Brooks (2001) showed that Alaska also has greater manufacturing costs relative to competitors in the PNW owing to higher hourly wages and lower productivity. Given that it is not possible to compensate for higher transportation costs with 

lower wages and manufacturing costs, Alaska may have difficulty attracting investment and promoting value-added manufacturing.

Conclusion

In this paper we have reviewed the general literature about the different pathways 

for economic growth and development in resource-abundant regions. We highlighted the change in thinking regarding the effectiveness of the forest products industry 

as a determinant of economic development. This does not mean that a more comprehensive strategy of forest-based development would not be beneficial to a region 

in the long run. If such a strategy rests on the goods and services for which a region 

has a comparative advantage, we can expect sustained development. Southeast 

Alaska illustrates one of the key hidden issues in this case—the transitory nature 

of the conditions that define comparative advantage. For example, southeast Alaska 

possessed comparative advantage for the production of some forest products in the 

1950s, but by the 1990s conditions had changed in forest product markets costing it 

that comparative advantage. At the same time, southeast Alaska gained a comparative advantage in cruise-ship-based tourism, raising expectations about sustainable 

development tied to tourism rather than the forest products industry.

This last point has several inferences for evolving discussion about community stability and transitions. First, southeast Alaska was seen as a place where the 

development of a forest products industry offered potential economic opportunities 
23

An Assessment of Growth and Development Paths for Southeast Alaska

that would increase the stability of local communities. The experience of the last 

several decades suggests that a more comprehensive strategy than just the development of a timber industry is required. Such a strategy requires a broad array of 

participants. Second, while there have been painful transitions in these communities, the communities themselves have survived although some prosper and others 

struggle. This emphasis on considering the propensity of communities to deal with 

transitions is consistent with contemporary concerns about sustainable development. In this context, the concern is about the viability and adaptability of communities. For example, indicator 46 used in the Montreal Process for assessing progress toward sustainable forest management deals with the viability and adaptability 

to changing economic conditions of forest-dependent communities (see Donoghue 

and Haynes 2002). This emphasis on the ability of communities to deal with transitions shifts the research questions to those that attempt to explain the dynamics of 

communities, changes in community functions, and the development of indicators 

for broad-scale socioeconomic changes observed at the community level. 

Finally, we infer a need for future research that improves our understanding of 

the relation among forest resources, management activities, and local communities. 

This need has long been of interest to the forestry profession, which is concerned 

with the role of forests in the economic development of a region and its associated 

communities. In the past, advocates of forest management undertaken for economic 

goals argued that development of forest resources offered some areas an opportunity for economic growth. Today, many suggest that the role of forest management 

on public (or commonly held) timberlands should be guided by a broad set of goals 

consistent with maintaining the social well-being of various stakeholders and users. This challenges us to consider different ways of measuring the contributions 

of forests to economic prosperity. In deciding which management goals to use and 

the method of implementing them, we are challenged to consider notions of social 

justice and eventual impacts on environmental conditions. 

Metric Equivalents

1,000 board feet (MBF) (log scale) = 5.67 cubic meters

1,000 board feet (MBF) (lumber scale) = 2.36 cubic meters

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