The Vertical Flow of Primary Sector Exports and Deforestation in Less-Developed Countries: A Test of Ecologically Unequal Exchange Theory

The theory of ecologically unequal exchange posits that through the vertical flow of exports from less-developed countries, the stratified world economy enables more-developed countries to externalize their environmental costs. It is further argued that this externalization of environmental costs increases forms of environmental degradation within the borders of less-developed countries. To evaluate key aspects of the theory, we test the hypothesis that less-developed countries with relatively higher levels of primary-sector exports sent to more-developed countries exhibit greater rates of deforestation, 1990–2005. Findings for multivariate regression analyses confirm the hypothesis, providing support for the theory. Additional results indicate that deforestation is positively associated with total population growth and negatively associated with both economic development and the presence of environmental international nongovernmental organizations.