The Hamburger Connection' and Deforestation: A Test of Ecologically Unequal Exchange Theory

Abstract

This study explores Norman Myers’s concept of the ‘hamburger connection’ as a form of ecologically unequal exchange, where more-developed nations are able to misappropriate the environmental costs of beef consumption to less-developed nations. OLS (ordinary least squares) regression is used to test if deforestation in less-developed nations is associated with the vertical flow of beef to more-developed nations. An interaction term is also used to test if this relationship is more pronounced for Latin American nations, as posited by Myers. The sample includes all non-desert, less-developed nations for which there is available data across all indicators and for either measure of deforestation, total forest change or natural forest change. Overall, the results confirm the tested hypotheses. The findings also provide unique contextual support for ecologically unequal exchange theory by analyzing the environmental impacts of export flows for a specific commodity type, beef.