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Informational Efficiency of Markets for Stumpage
Author(s) -
Washburn Courtland L.,
Binkley Clark S.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1242342
Subject(s) - stumpage , economics , asset (computer security) , monetary economics , agricultural economics , microeconomics , business , natural resource economics , computer security , computer science
This paper examines the weak‐form informational efficiency of markets for pine sawtimber stumpage in the U.S. South. Analyses of annual and quarterly rates of price change generally indicate that stumpage markets are efficient. When viewed over monthly intervals, stumpage markets do not pass the tests for weak‐form efficiency. This failure is attributed to friction in the market due to the time and cost involved in consumating timber sales. The results have implications for price‐responsive timber harvest scheduling, for the application of asset pricing models to forestry investments, and for policies governing sales of timber from public lands.