A Hotelling-Faustmann Explanation of the Structure of Christmas Tree Prices

We examine the relationship between a tree price and a tree age (height) using a Hotelling-Faustmann type model of optimal plantation management, which accounts for the possibility of replanting and biological growth. The model predictions are tested using the data on Christmas tree prices in North Carolina collected in December 1997. The estimates show that, in general, the rates of change in prices between adjacent age cohorts reflect a competitive equilibrium in the capital market thus supporting the Hotelling-Faustmann paradigm. Copyright 2001, Oxford University Press.