Clear Property Rights Research Articles

Local perspectives on the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining in the Madre de Dios gold fields, Peru

A growing number of governments and donors are promoting the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). They believe that doing so puts them in a better position to govern the sector, and manage the social and environmental impacts of its activities. Mainstream formalization processes are based on the assumption that clear property rights enable the recipients of these rights to capitalize their possessions. Because of reciprocal obligations, the argument follows that formalized ASM actors then better embrace the social and environmental norms regulating their activity. This paper reflects critically on attempts made to formalize ASM in Madre de Dios in Peruvian Amazonia. We share local perceptions of ASM impacts, and broaden understanding of the relationship between mainstream formalization and more bottom-up processes for governing and managing ASM impacts. We forward mesoscale collaborative approaches to impact management. In Madre de Dios, this could involve the appointment of a regional mediator with a strong mandate, establishment of a mobile formalization office, and the implementation of a series of coordinated but independent impact management activities through an impact management plan. This approach would not involve a stepwise procedure in which the failure to achieve one goal would prevent the pursuit of others.

A Study of China's Elimination of Private Benefits of Control in State-owned Enterprises

To eliminate control of state-owned enterprise managers of self-interest is a key problem for management of state-owned enterprises, the Chinese government has adopted a separate government functions from enterprise management, clear property rights, the board of directors system, assignment of the board of supervisors system, disciplinary leadership system reform, the mixed ownership and other measures, are difficult to eliminate the soe managers to seize control of self-interest, together with the present situation of China's state-owned enterprises, this paper proposed by the board of supervisors as the center of the corporate governance structure, powers and running of the reform of internal management mechanism, to try to eliminate the control gain, achieving the value of state-owned enterprises.

协商和侵权行为法解决环境外部性问题经济学分析

环境外部性问题是市场失灵的重要表现，其症结在于产权的难以界定。产权不清是导致外部性的原因。通过产权明晰使资源得到有效的配置，可促使环境外部性问题内在化。解决环境外部性的传统模式主要是依靠政府相关职能部门行政管理模式，其易于操作和控制，在短期内有明显效果，但缺乏可持续性。协商和侵权行为法对环境外部性问题的解决具有重要的作用，它们也需要不断研究完善。对于用协商和侵权行为法解决环境外部性问题提出了几点建议。 The problem of environmental externalities was an important manifestation of market failure, the crux of the problem was difficult to define the property rights. Unclear property rights resulted in the externalities. Through clear property rights, the resources can be effectively configured, which contribute to internalize the environmental externalities. The traditional model of dealing with environmental externality was mainly to rely on the government of relevant administrative de-partment, which was simple, easy to operate and control, and had obvious effect in the short term, but lacking of sustainability. Negotiation and tort law had an important role in solving the problem of environmental externalities, they also need to be studied and improved constantly. Several suggestions were put forward for addressing the environmental externality problem by negotiation and tort law.

Is self-governance of the commons feasible in the PRC? A case study of pasture governance in Zhua Xixiulong township, Gansu province

The concept of the “tragedy of the commons”, as articulated by Hardin (1968), has had a huge influence on the protection and management of pastures in countries where ecosystems of grasslands and livestock co-exist, including in the People’s Republic of China. In order to avoid “the tragedy” and to establish clear property rights, a policy was adopted in China under which winter pastures were contracted to households, while summer pastures remained “common”. The effect of this policy on pasture protection has been controversial. Some have argued that the capacity of herders for self-governance has been ignored since, according to Ostrom’s (1990) theory of self-governance, under certain conditions herders themselves should be able to govern pastures efficiently without external constraints. The findings of the present case study – conducted in Zhua Xixiulong township, Tianzhu county, Gansu province – temper this argument. They show that complete self-governance is not feasible in practice, because self-governance principles such as graduated sanctions and minimal recognition of rights to organise are not fully satisfied.

Property, Copyrights, and Economic Growth

Economists have long noted the importance of clear laws and property rights to facilitate transactions and promote economic activity and growth. Intellectual property including copyrights is part of the fabric of property both in the United States and around the world. Empirical studies support the relationship between copyright industries and various measures of economic growth and economic freedom. Copyrights contribute to American economic growth and benefit the American consumer.

Tourism-Related Pay for Environmental Services: An Important Tool for Environmental Management

Ecosystem accounts a lot to human survival and development. Ecological / environmental services has become an important part of the whole economic system functioning. Thus, from the perspective of environmental fairness and environmental controversies, pay for environmental services has become an important tool of acknowledging ecological capital and solving environmental problems. With the development of tourism, tourism-related pay for environmental services also entered the perspective of researchers and practitioners. Tourism-related pay for environmental services becomes the priority areas for the implementation of pay for environmental services because of its relatively clear property rights, clear beneficiaries, and strong capacity of payment. At the same time, Tourism-related pay for environmental services becomes the focus of enhancing the efficiency of pay for environmental services because tourism has become an important way to ecological construction and solve problems of livelihoods of local communities. This paper first proposed definition of tourism-related pay for environmental services, and then examines the standards of pay for environmental services that remains the key issue of pay for environmental services. The purpose of the paper is to provide intellectual support for the implementation of important environmental management tools.

The role of market-based instruments for biodiversity conservation in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper analyses the development and emergence of market based instruments for biodiversity conservation in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The development of market-based instruments for biodiversity conservation has been receiving increased attention as a possible cheaper and more effective alternative to the global regulatory approach. The implementation of such instruments is particularly challenging in post-socialist countries, where the former state command-and-control economy disturbed the normal functioning of markets. Our analysis indicates that market-based instruments can increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation, but are not always suitable and appropriate. The following preconditions for the effective design of market-based instruments in CEE countries have been identified: clear property rights and decision making structure, transparent rules for information dissemination, and monitoring responsibilities. Our results show that the successful implementation of market-based instruments for biodiversity conservation in CEE countries is furthermore influenced by pre-existing formal and informal institutions, in which reputation and trust may play a role. However, market-based instruments should complement rather than substitute regulatory approaches, and in combination with traditional regulation, such can become critical in achieving the objectives of biodiversity conservation.

Ecomarkets for conservation and sustainable development in the coastal zone

Because conventional markets value only certain goods or services in the ocean (e.g. fish), other services provided by coastal and marine ecosystems that are not priced, paid for, or stewarded tend to become degraded. In fact, the very capacity of an ecosystem to produce a valued good or service is often reduced because conventional markets value only certain goods and services, rather than the productive capacity. Coastal socio-ecosystems are particularly susceptible to these market failures due to the lack of clear property rights, strong dependence on resource extraction, and other factors. Conservation strategies aimed at protecting unvalued coastal ecosystem services through regulation or spatial management (e.g. Marine Protected Areas) can be effective but often result in lost revenue and adverse social impacts, which, in turn, create conflict and opposition. Here, we describe 'ecomarkets' - markets and financial tools - that could, under the right conditions, generate value for broad portfolios of coastal ecosystem services while maintaining ecosystem structure and function by addressing the unique problems of the coastal zone, including the lack of clear management and exclusion rights. Just as coastal tenure and catch-share systems generate meaningful conservation and economic outcomes, it is possible to imagine other market mechanisms that do the same with respect to a variety of other coastal ecosystem goods and services. Rather than solely relying on extracting goods, these approaches could allow communities to diversify ecosystem uses and focus on long-term stewardship and conservation, while meeting development, food security, and human welfare goals. The creation of ecomarkets will be difficult in many cases, because rights and responsibilities must be devolved, new social contracts will be required, accountability systems must be created and enforced, and long-term patterns of behaviour must change. We argue that efforts to overcome these obstacles are justified, because these deep changes will strongly complement policies and tools such as Marine Protected Areas, coastal spatial management, and regulation, thereby helping to bring coastal conservation to scale.

湿地资源保护经济学分析——以北京野鸭湖湿地为例

湿地资源保护是全球生态保护的核心问题之一。在分析湿地资源保护的经济属性的基础上,以北京市野鸭湖湿地为案例,运用经济学的理论和方法以及清晰的图表重点分析了野鸭湖湿地资源保护过程中的外部性以及资源利用中成本与收益两个问题。研究结果表明:(1)从正外部性分析,个人收益小于社会收益,个人保护的湿地资源小于社会最优量,会造成湿地资源保护的不足;从负外部性分析,个人成本小于社会成本,个人对湿地资源的利用水平大于社会最优利用水平,造成湿地资源的过度利用;(2)根据湿地资源利用的成本收益分析结果,"搭便车"行为会造成湿地资源的退化甚至恶化;(3)明晰产权有利于湿地资源配置效率的提高。研究结果可以为中国湿地保护过程中出现的资源利用矛盾提供有益的借鉴,特别是为保护北京野鸭湖湿地提供理论支撑和政策建议。;A wetland ecosystem is one of the most important ecosystems on earth. It plays important roles in ecological balances and provides human beings with products such as food, water and entertainment. Therefore, wetland resource conservation is one of the key issues in global ecological environment protection. Based on the analysis of economic attributes of wetland resource conservation and the theories of property rights, public goods and externality, this research, taking the Beijing Wild Duck Lake (BWDL) wetland as an example, emphatically analyzed (1) the externality in the processes of BWDL resource protection and (2) the costs and the profits in the BWDL resource utilization. The results show: (1) Individual profits may not be compensated due to positive externality, which leads to the deficiency of resources during the wetland protection. We hold that a reasonable compensation mechanism should be built in order to compensate the people who participate in the protection of wetlands. Only when their individual profits were safeguarded then can the social optimal point be achieved. In addition, people who destroy wetland resources may not be punished due to negative externality. If there is no valid constraint mechanism for these behaviors of destroying wetland resources, deterioration of wetland resources cannot be avoided. Hence, in the view of externality theory, the primary reason caused the wetland deterioration is the lack of compensation and constraint mechanism of positive and negative externality. (2) Free riding will lead to the deterioration of wetland resources. Taking cage fish culture in the BWDL as an example, we analyzed the negative effect from free riding. Results show that free riding existed in the utilization of wetland resources, resulting in the excessive use of wetland resources. Once the carrying capacity of local wetland ecosystems was broken, wetland resources will deteriorate further. Hence, one of the most challenges facing by wetland resources protection is how to coordinate the contradiction between cost and benefit during the protection and utilization of wetland resources. (3) A clear property rights is good for wetland resources protection. Free riding and externality are, fundamentally, results of unclear property rights of wetland resources. In China, most of natural resources with characteristics of public goods belong to two types: state or collective ownership. The allocation efficient of wetland resources will be low under the condition of unclear property rights. Individual person who protect wetland resources cannot get expect revenue. Converting the operation right and revenue right to individual may be a good way to solve the above problems. Individual is response for cost and benefit during the utilization of wetland resources. The allocation efficient will be improved and market failure can thus be avoided. Thereafter, administers of wetlands should define behaviors and reasonability of damage behaviors of wetland resources. Meanwhile, they should also make clear about the right and responsibility of wetland resource users. These research results would provide references for the problems in wetland protection processes in our country. In particular, it can provide scientific basis and policy options in the BWDL wetland conservation.

Property Rights and China's Economic Development

The nature of market transactions is the change of the main property rights, the core system of market economy is the property right. In 1960, Coase pulished “The Problem of Social Cost”,it inspired economists’ enthusiasm to property rights, and summarized the coase theorem. Clear property rights is the precondition of the market, and to define property by the government ofen has scale economy and violence advantage. Property rights include real rights and human rights, The real right is the derivation of human rights. Clear property is the real power to promote social and economic development, and the goals of social and economic development is development and improvement of the property.

How Does Influence-Peddling Impact Industrial Competition? Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Africa

Prior research has emphasized that the high costs and risks arising from a poor investment climate-lack of clear property rights, macro-instability, the burden of regulation and taxation, poor infrastructure, lack of finance, and lack of human capital-have impeded the development of the private sector in sub-Saharan Africa, despite adoption of structural adjustment and liberalization policies. Given the resulting wide differentials in productivity, it is not surprising that most of the African manufacturing sector has not been competitive in exports. However, trade liberalization should have had greater impact on domestic markets for manufactured goods in Africa, leading to either to a rapid decline in the size of the manufacturing sector due to import competition, or to a rapid increase in productivity of surviving enterprises. In fact, neither has happened to any significant degree over the last 20 years. Based on data from Enterprise Surveys conducted by the Regional Program for Enterprise Development at the World Bank, this paper argues that some African manufacturing enterprises have continued to retain their market leadership in domestic markets by investing in relationships with governments, thereby maintaining high barriers to entry and a reduced degree of competition. This influence is particularly severe in some countries in Africa and is often driven by relatively few enterprises. In particular, Zambia and Kenya seem to suffer a high degree of influence-peddling, while Mali and Senegal are at the low end of the scale. Comparisons with selected countries in Asia show that lobbying in East Africa is different than in Asia-larger enterprises, and enterprises with higher market share lobby in Africa, as compared to Asia where market share is not a significant determinant of lobbying activity. The results imply that attempts to improve the productivity of the African private sector through focusing only on the removal of trade barriers, improvements in the investment climate, and private sector capacity building will at most be partially successful. In order to escape from the current low-level equilibrium trap, future reforms will need to explicitly consider political economy issues. From this perspective, the role of regional integration as a tool of competition policy will need to be given greater consideration.

Property rights distribution and entrepreneurial rent-seeking in Romanian forestry: a perspective of private forest owners

In the framework of a broader political economics approach, this paper intends to enhance the understanding of the role of rent-seeking practices in the delineation of clear property rights in forestry. The research background is provided by the institutional changes occurring in the Romanian forestry sector as a consequence of the transition period and the accession to the European Union. The entrepreneurial approach to rent-seeking requires clarifications of the perspective under which private forest owners are analysed in order to position this study within ongoing discussions regarding the role of rent-seeking and its social impact. The conceptual framework employed distinguishes between rents resulting from entrepreneurship in conventional production functions and rents resulting from institutional entrepreneurship. A typology of entrepreneurial rent-seeking is developed for further understanding of the effects resulting from changes in the institutional setting of property rights. Using a qualitative approach, in the form of a case study, the research reveals perspectives of Romanian forest owners regarding barriers to production inherent in the current distribution of rights. Despite the extent of perceived profit-seeking barriers, owners’ entrepreneurial rent-seeking actions intended to change property rights in their favour appear limited and constrained. Hence, identified hypotheses regarding the institutional context dependency of entrepreneurial rent-seeking provide the basis for the future empirical identification of the role of institutional entrepreneurship within the forest production system.

The role of patents in biodiversity conservation

Patents may not establish clear property and use rights and this may promote biodiversity destruction and decline. What is needed are schemes for patents to suit conservation and sustainable-use objectives.

The Perils of Taking Property Too Far.

Many policies governing biobanks revolve around ownership and control of the materials and information in them. Those who manage biobanks may be tempted to seek the broadest legal rights possible over material and data. However, we suggest that even if ownership and control were clearly defined by the law and readily obtained by biobanks, how legal rights are used in practice matters as much or more than the rules for ownership. We draw lessons from the stories of genetic testing for Canavan disease and inherited breast and ovarian cancers. In both cases, the use or assertion of legal rights led to preventable controversy and suboptimal outcomes. The attempt to acquire and exercise intellectual property rights antagonized and alienated stakeholders, whom we define broadly to include the donors, patients, doctors, research institutions, health care providers, governments, and citizens with an interest in research and its outcomes. By analogy, even if biobanks could acquire expansive and clear property rights over materials and data, biobanks that want to maintain productive relationships with stakeholders must not lose the trust of those who contribute material or others with an interest in research.

Investment Process: Stock of Problems and Interests

The article focuses on key reasons for capital formation relative lagging during the economic upturn. Still not clear property rights, the long process of formatting of the ownership, weak corporate governance have delayed the turnaround to the investment boom. The structure of economy, sales and industry profitability determines the structure of investments, but it does not lead to sufficient investments in the research sector and manufacturing. The financial sector shows high dynamics, but it can not supply enough "long" money with a huge export of capital. Capital formation has not been influenced by any investment policy. In essence it was the "Inertia" scenario which during the long crisis led to aggravating problems in the economy. These problems have not been solved in the upturn. This situation stimulates the government to use its financial resources in the context of the "Mobilization" scenario that creates more difficulties for the "Modernization" scenario.

Property rights, land conflicts and deforestation in the Eastern Amazon

In the Brazilian Amazon, insecure property rights are among the main causes of land conflicts and deforestation. Through an in-depth empirical case study in Maranhao in the Eastern Amazon, this research analyzes how distorted agrarian, forest and environmental policies, laws and regulations originated insecure property rights not only over land, but also over timber, which allied to social and political factors, such as uneven distribution of land and strong organization of landless peasants, led to land conflicts and deforestation. This paper also shows that the causes of and the several actors involved in the deforestation of the Amazon were not independent, rather they were related and interact to each other. Compatibility between environmental goals and agrarian policies, regulations and laws are necessary to provide secure and clear property rights to allow a better enforcement of environmental regulations and to give actors incentives to avoid deforestation.

Privatization, Public Goods, and the Ironic Challenge of Free Trade Agreements

Use of quasi-markets for provision of public goods requires clear property rights, a predictable adjudication process, and low transaction costs. These may be undermined by new restrictions on government action found in the new generation of free trade agreements. These trade agreements privilege foreign over domestic investors, replace public courts with private arbitration, supplant traditional standards for legislation by requirements to be “least trade restrictive,” and forward a new definition of “takings” that requires governmental compensation for lost potential profits from regulatory action. These features undermine the governance structure necessary to reduce transaction costs of delivering complex public services through private contracts.

Social Networks, Rule of Law and Economic Growth in China: The Elusive Pursuit of the Right Combination of Private and Public Ordering

Although social networks exist in every society, they are widely believed to play a different and more prominent role in Asian societies, especially those with a Confucian heritage, than in Western states, particularly Western states with mature capitalist economies, liberal democratic political systems with robust civil societies, and well developed legal systems characterized by rule of law and a modern bureaucratic administrative system. This article explores the role of social networks in economic organization, development and growth in China, with reference to the experiences of other countries where relevant. I consider the relationship of private ordering, networks of relationships and informal law to formal law and rule of law, taking up in particular the claims that the former are an adequate substitute for the latter and sufficient for sustained economic growth (or at least sufficient if combined with sound economic policies and favorable contingent factors such as political stability, adequate natural resources, an advantageous geographical location, etc.). The relationship between private ordering, social networks, informal law and economic growth has long been the subject of controversy. While neo-classical economists struggled to explain the East Asian Miracle, others were quick to champion social networks, clientelism, corporatism and a rule of relationships as alternatives to rule of law and clear property rights. Although the Asian financial crisis took some of the wind out of the sails of the challengers to neo-classical economic theory, the subsequent quick turn around of many of the economies breathed new life into what appeared to be a settled debate, especially since the recovery was attributed in part to family and social networks. The high incidence of family businesses and the relational nature of much business in Asian countries appears to have helped cushion the shock of the Asian financial crisis by providing a social welfare network in countries where the social security system is typically weak, and by making it possible to raise capital to start over, thus contributing to a speedy economic recovery. Notwithstanding the rapid return to health of some of the Asian economies, I shall argue that relationships, social networks and private orderings are not an adequate substitute for formal law and rule of law, and that the latter are necessary for sustained economic growth. Nevertheless, there is a role for private ordering, relational networks and informal law as complements to formal law. This is especially true during a transition period where markets are imperfect and institutions weak. But even in mature economies with well-developed institutions and rule of law, social networks, private ordering and informal law still play a complementary but nonetheless significant role.

Property Rights and Game-Theory Implications of Satellite Communications: The Bilateral Case of Greece and Russia

In this paper we examine the actual legal situation concerning the attribution of geostatic positions and frequencies and the problems of frequency interference by other satellites due to not fully clear property rights. We analyze the property rights setting governing satellite communications and review the implications of the Coase theorem of these rules through a game theoretical approach between two players: Russia and Greece (Hellasat commercial communication attempt). The basic finding, in accordance with the theorem's prediction under non-zero and possibly high transaction costs, is that the end result may be sub-optimal due to the inappropriate present specification of property rights, leading either to non-use of scarce resources, or to total over-investment.

Muddy Rules for Cyberspace

Digital communication media such as the Internet pose difficult challenges for traditional forms of intellectual property protection. Much recent scholarship and considerable governmental attention has been focused on adapting and expanding copyright to encompass digital works of authorship. These efforts have been justified on the grounds that clear property rights are necessary to allow efficient allocation of intellectual property between private parties. However, these rationales ignore the literature regarding the efficiency of unclear or muddy property entitlements. Where transaction costs of private bargaining are high, muddy rules will tend to force parties into informal bargaining transactions. Transaction costs on the Internet may tend to be high because of the number of parties involved, the difficulty of locating the parties, increased opportunity for strategic behavior, and the transborder nature of the medium. Thus, informal transactions or self-help may be the most efficient means for provision of digital works. In such a case, muddy or unclear rules should perhaps be favored for on-line entitlements.