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Joel Wood

Associate Professor of Economics, Thompson Rivers University

Joel Wood, Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute, is an Associate Professor of Economics at Thompson Rivers University and the former Associate Director of Environment and Risk and Regulation Policy at the Fraser Institute. He has a Master’s degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Guelph, under the supervision of Ross McKitrick. Wood completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at the University of British Columbia. His areas of research interest include environmental economics, energy economics, natural resource economics, applied econometrics, applied microeconomics, and public policy.

Recent Research by Joel Wood

— Jun 24, 2014
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Log Export Policy for British Columbia

Almost no topic in British Columbia forestry has been more controversial than what to do about log exports. Unions and some politicians argue for a complete ban, while previous economic analysis has favoured free trade in logs. Meanwhile, the current government has been happy to allow limited log exports, so long as these logs are not of the highest quality and are deemed surplus to domestic needs. This paper compares three policy options for British Columbia’s log exports: a ban, an export quota, and free trade.

— Apr 22, 2014
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Economic Freedom and Air Quality

It is well established that economic freedom is one of the main drivers of economic prosperity. Economic freedom is the extent to which you can pursue economic activity without government interference as long as your actions don’t violate the rights of others. Pollution is generally given as an example of a situation where the economic actions of one person violates the rights of others, thus justifying government intervention. However, the same economic institutions that contribute to economic freedom may actually lead to a cleaner environment at the same time.

— Jul 16, 2013
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Canadians are concerned about the abundance and quality of our freshwater resources, yet information is widely dispersed and often difficult to obtain. This publication reviews a wide array of data and government publications to assess the state of Canada’s water resources in an effort to make the information more accessible to policy-makers and the general public.