ABSTRACT
Globally, the forest sector employs over 18 million people in the formal sector. Inclusion of the informal sector estimates pushes the number closer to 50 million (Nair and Rutt 2009). Other experts suggest this number is much higher, only considering small-and medium-sized enterprises. Thus, it is a critical economic sector in many countries, especially for rural income and employment generation. This significant economic role has, understandably, attracted economists for many years making forest economics one of the well-established and mainstream fields within the forest sector academy.
