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The raw and the carved: Shipping costs and ivory smuggling

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  • Moyle, Brendan

Abstract

The recent and rapid increase in elephant poaching has caused international alarm. A fixed-effects panel-data regression model was employed to identify possible causes of this upsurge. Ivory seizures were categorised as worked or raw. These categories were also divided into four weight classes ranging from under 10kg to over 1000kg. With Africa being the source of ivory and much of the poached ivory destined for Asia it was hypothesised that smugglers would respond to shipping costs. The results showed that shipping costs, especially for large shipments, were correlated to smuggling levels. Other factors include global interest rates, which motivate stockpiling by criminal organisations. Stability in Africa as measured by refugee numbers correlates to raw ivory seizures. The data describes a scenario where three forces converged to escalate poaching in the late 2000s. Raw ivory was being made increasingly available at a time from Central African range states, when criminal organisations desired larger stockpiles of tusks. The sharp decline in shopping costs gave them the means to take advantage of this.

Suggested Citation

  • Moyle, Brendan, 2014. "The raw and the carved: Shipping costs and ivory smuggling," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 259-265.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:107:y:2014:i:c:p:259-265
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.09.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Brennan, Andrew John & Kalsi, Jaslin Kaur, 2015. "Elephant poaching & ivory trafficking problems in Sub-Saharan Africa: An application of O'Hara's principles of political economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 312-337.
    2. Harvey, Ross & Alden, Chris & Wu, Yu-Shan, 2017. "Speculating a Fire Sale: Options for Chinese Authorities in Implementing a Domestic Ivory Trade Ban," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 22-31.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CITES; Elephant; Ivory; Poaching; Smuggling; Wildlife economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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