ABSTRACT
The performance of the nations’ forest-based industry is determined by the conduct of the firms operating within the industry, which in turn is a function of how the industry is structured. The structure-conduct-performance paradigm is the distinguishing characteristic of industrial organization economics. Industrial organization economics can be applied to many areas of interest to forest-based industrial performance. Two major wood-based industries—lumber and wood products and paper and allied products— account for seven percent of the national income generated by US manufacturing industries. Much of the regional economics research involving the wood-based industry has focused on developing input-output multipliers to describe intra-industry linkages. One of the most important performance considerations is the contribution of an industry to regional economic development. Timberland as a strategic investment variable is vital to the wood-based products industry. Technical change, innovation, and investments in research and development can have a significant bearing on the future structure of the wood-based industry.
