Basic Assumptions: A technical document supporting the 1989 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

Abstract

The RPA Assessment provides long-term projections of supply of and demand for natural resources. A variety of economic and demographic variables are critical factors in these projections. To ensure consistency across resources analyses, a set of basic assumptions are developed to be used in all resource analyses. This document describes the basic assumptions for the 1989 RPA Assessment and how they differ from those used in the 1979 RPA Assessment.Many changes occurred in the U.S. economy between 1979 and 1989. During this decade, trade and budget deficits, interest and inflation rates, and energy costs have influenced short- and long-term prospects for the U.S. economy. Despite the many short-run shocks to the economy, the general outlook is one of growth and increasing affluence of the U.S. population. This outlook parallels the history of the past 50 years, during which the U.S. economy was buffeted by world war, recession, and other dislocations but still managed to more than quadruple its gross national product net of inflation and deflation.There were four major revisions in the basic assumptions underlying the RPA Assessment - projections of population, gross national product, energy prices, and per capita consumption of red meat. These revisions were based on new information obtained since the basic assumptions developed for the 1979 RPA Assessment."

Citation

USDA Forest Service. 1989. Basic assumptions: A technical document supporting the 1989 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-174. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 11 p.