Protection Of Private Property Rights Research Articles

An institutional perspective to international development

The purpose of this paper is to develop an alternative scheme and recommendations for international development based on the institutionalist tradition. Such an exercise of contrasting the institutional tradition with the Washington Consensus and the After the Washington Consensus (AWC) has not been endeavoured. Students of international development would benefit from these findings that distinguish between mainstream and institutionalist perspectives on international development programs. A classification strategy is adopted using the WC and AWC as starting points. The alternative institutionalist development program is scrutinised according to how it varies from the WC and AWC features. The original WC and the AWC are both based on the prevailing mainstream discourse on the relationship between institutions and economic development that requires only institutions that maximise market freedom and protect private property rights. As well, the Washington Consensus and the AWC have a poor understanding of evolutionary character of institutional change, habitually being either overly optimistic or pessimistic about the feasibility of institutional change.

The order is rapidly fadin’

Purpose This paper reviews the relationship between property and the changing coastal environment. It looks at issues around the mismatch between the protection of private property rights implicit in our property law, which assumes stability and permanence, and the protection of public rights and environmental values expected of coastal land, which is increasingly vulnerable to climate change hazard. Issues of retreat from the coast, perhaps with compensation and incentives, will need to be dealt with. Design/methodology/approach New Zealand situations and examples are used to illustrate the conflicts between secure property rights and changing coastal land. Findings The effects of climate change on coastal land will be significant. This era of environmental degradation and climate change will require a significant re-ordering of property law. Changes in coastal land will require property owners to adapt their use and occupation of the coastal zone, if necessary by retreating. Similarly, local authorities will need to be proactive in planning for coastal land changes. Social implications Property will need to be re-imagined to support public and environmental goals for the coast. Originality/value This paper extends other discussions about how property law and the protection of property rights is a barrier to implementing climate change responses.

Transfer of development rights as an institutional innovation to address issues of property rights

Many densely populated cities face the issues of limited usable urban land, and the redevelopment process may threaten the built heritage. Government, in serving the public interest, often intervenes through administrative or regulatory means in the conservation of these privately owned heritage buildings during urban renewal, even though such intervention may violate private property rights to different degrees. Yet, the general law of most developed and developing countries, though in different forms, is meant to protect private property rights. So, it is important to devise a fair and workable mechanism, supported with an innovative institutional arrangement, to control development of privately owned properties. Transfer of development rights (TDR) is one institutional innovation that can balance the conflict between public and private interests to supplement the defect of planning law. Before using TDR to address the property rights issues, there are some concerns that need debating. These include: whether development rights are property rights or not; the impact of conservation on property value; and the role of TDR on property rights, compensation or mitigation of the affected property. This research study begins by analyzing the relationship between property rights and development rights, and exploring how property rights, planning law and TDR interact with each other. It then takes Hong Kong as a typical example among the dense cities to examine the TDR programmes for built heritage conservation and identify the challenges of TDR. Due to the institutional-based characteristics of TDR, the research utilizes a comparison of TDR in Hong Kong with those in other jurisdictions from the perspective of property rights to extend the research result to wider application. The most recent controversial court case in Hong Kong (the ‘Hysan’ case) is discussed to illustrate the intricacy and controversy evolving around this issue. Finally, the research proposes strategies for the improvement in TDR, based on Hong Kong and overseas experiences from the perspective of legislative amendments, protection of property rights and of other stakeholders’ rights.

Firm-Level Investment Decisions Under Uncertainty and Irreversibility in Zimbabwes Private Firms

Zimbabwe’s business operating environment is abounding with both micro and macro uncertainties that regularly impact on firm-level investment decisions. Under uncertainty and irreversibility private firms are forced to integrate into their investment appraisals and decisions some expectations regarding future product demand and prices, likely returns on fixed capital investment, expected margins, cost of capital expectations and cash flow projections. These important issues are not known with definitive assurance and hence, making investment decisions under uncertainty a challenging task for Zimbabwe’s private firms. The study examined investment under uncertainty and irreversibility in Zimbabwe’s private firms using a polychotomous regression model with the three investment decision outcomes; “invest now”, “do not invest now” and “defer investment”. The major findings are that; (1) liquidity constraints, firm size and credit constraints significantly influence the probability of investing now irrespective of uncertainties in the economy. (2) Poor public infrastructure, political uncertainty, inconsistent application of the indigenization laws and absence of laws that protect private property rights increase the probability of private firms’ deferring investment decisions under uncertainty and investment irreversibility. The paper recommends that policy makers should reduce macro uncertainties in the financial sector that affect firm-level investment decisions, adopt policies that enhance productivity of public infrastructure and must observe national and international laws that safeguard investor property rights.

Real estate developers’ influence of land use legislation in the Toronto region: An institutionalist investigation of developers, land conflict and property law

This paper investigates the role of real estate developers in shaping land use legislation, land use planning and property law. The conceptual framework draws on third-phase institutionalism and socio-legal theory to examine actors and ideas that influence knowledge and practices of land use, planning and property. This paper confronts absences in planning theory that overlook the role of real estate developers in disputes over land, especially their role in shaping the legislative framework governing land use. The argument is that property law is not simply an objective system of rules interpreted by lawyers, judges and the courts. Neither is it a singular concept protecting private property rights. Rather, it is a complex concept and institution that emerges in practice through political processes, such as social movements, the exercise of power and influence by elite actors, and strategic acts by political actors navigating diverse and competing agendas. The empirical evidence informing this argument derives from case study research of land conflicts on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Toronto region, Canada, with particular attention given to the relationship between real estate developers, social movement actors, and politicians involved in resolving the conflict.

Institutional environment, public-private hybrid forms, and entrepreneurial reinvestment in a transition economy

Many less developed and, especially, transition economies have had high levels of entrepreneurial reinvestment for relatively long periods despite the absence of developed government institutions. To resolve this puzzle, this study proposes that many entrepreneurial firms in these economies have been actively engaged in political activities, through which organizational arrangements are created to co-opt government agencies into their organizational structures to manipulate and even control unfavorable institutional environments. It empirically evaluates the role of one such organizational arrangement – public-private hybrid forms – in China's gradual reform period. It suggests that, through protecting property rights and facilitating access to key resources and opportunities, public-private hybrid forms may act as a substitute for deficient market and legal institutions, thus facilitating entrepreneurial reinvestment. The findings from a national sample of Chinese entrepreneurial firms support our propositions. In general, entrepreneurial firms adopting public-private hybrid forms enjoy higher entrepreneurial reinvestment rates than pure private firms during gradual reform; and this may be the case because such forms help to both protect private property rights and access key resources and opportunities. In addition, the association between the forms and reinvestment rate is found higher under less developed government institutions.

Debt Sustainability in Low-Income Countries: Policies, Institutions, or Shocks?

This paper estimates the determinants of external debt distress in low-income countries (LICs), disentangling the roles of institutions, shocks, and policies. The most prominent factors in raising the risk of debt distress are the weak protection of private property rights, adverse shocks to real non-oil commodity prices, and a high debt burden. Results also suggest that weak economic institutions tend to raise the probability of debt distress through persistently weak economic policies and high vulnerability to external shocks. The model enables a more granular analysis of debt sustainability in LICs and has a higher predictive power compared to the earlier scant literature.

Debt Sustainability in Low-Income Countries: Policies, Institutions, or Shocks?

This paper estimates the determinants of external debt distress in low-income countries (LICs), disentangling the roles of institutions, shocks, and policies. The most prominent factors in raising the risk of debt distress are the weak protection of private property rights, adverse shocks to real non-oil commodity prices, and a high debt burden. Results also suggest that weak economic institutions tend to raise the probability of debt distress through persistently weak economic policies and high vulnerability to external shocks. The model enables a more granular analysis of debt sustainability in LICs and has a higher predictive power compared to the earlier scant literature.

Private Property and Public Power in the Occupied West Bank

AbstractDoes an Occupying Power have a duty to protect private property rights of protected persons against acts of its own citizens? What is the extent of such a duty? This paper argues that under belligerent occupation, land disputes between individuals of both sides of the conflict are

Regulating unregulated groundwater in Texas: how the state could conquer this final frontier

Texas has 9 major aquifers and 21 minor aquifers underlying the state. These aquifers are a vital water supply source in Texas, providing approximately 60% of the 16.1 million acre-feet of water used in the state annually. These underground waters also sustain surface water flow in rivers across Texas; thus, they are integral to the health of watersheds throughout the state and the economies that depend on this water. However, approximately one-third of Texas is not regulated by a groundwater conservation district. During a time of unparalleled pressure on groundwater resources across the state, the lack of groundwater protection in some areas of Texas is undermining important areas of law and policy—from property rights and natural resource protection, to groundwater management and regional water planning. The presence of a groundwater conservation district, however, does not guarantee effective management of groundwater resources or protection of private property rights, springflow, and surface water flow. Groundwater policy in Texas permits aquifers to be mined and fails to protect the property rights of landowners who wish to conserve their groundwater. In addition, a fragmented regulatory structure and insufficient funding for groundwater conservation districts impede effective management of groundwater resources. To bring effective groundwater management to areas of the state where groundwater conservation districts do not exist, therefore, Texas must resolve fundamental challenges in the way groundwater is managed in areas where it is regulated. Citation: Puig-Williams V. 2016. Regulating unregulated groundwater in Texas: how the state could conquer this final frontier. Texas Water Journal. 7(1):85-96. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v7i1.7039.

Public Purpose as a Justification for Expropriation of Rural Land Rights in Ethiopia

AbstractExpropriation of private land rights involves two contradictory interests: there is a public need for land; and landholders expect security of tenure and protection of their private property rights. A satisfactory expropriation policy must strike a balance between these interests. Legislation must therefore only authorize the government to expropriate land rights for a clear and limited public purpose under the supervision of an independent body. The author argues that Ethiopia's rural land laws have defined the public purpose for the expropriation of rural land rights in different ways depending on the nature of the landholders. For peasants and pastoralists the public purpose requirement is defined vaguely and broadly, whereas for investors the concept is limited to projects implemented by government. The author argues that the protection of private property rights and security of tenure are further undermined by a legislative failure to authorize affected people to appeal to an independent body on the basis that the public purpose requirement has not been satisfied.

Entrepreneurial orientation in the emerging Russian regulatory context: the criticality of interpersonal relationships

The present research examines the understudied impact of the regulatory environment on the manifestation of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) among firms within an emerging market context. Results from an exploratory sample of 432 Russian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) suggest that key aspects of the regulatory environment may deserve further attention in future research. Controlling for the level of compliance by a given Russian SME, the perceived protection of private property rights was observed to have a marginally significant direct positive effect, whereas the perceived strength of contract law is shown to exhibit a marginal negative relationship with EO among Russian SMEs. In terms of operating within this emerging regulatory context, the perceived availability of governmental contracts had a marginal positive effect on EO. Finally, stressing the importance of 'who you know is more important than what you know', relationships with government officials had a very strong positive effect on EO.

A Tale of Two Capitalisms: Perilous Misperceptions About Capitalism, Entrepreneurship, Government, and Inequality

This paper examines two widely held perceptions about capitalism, challenging the popular view that capitalism is a villainous perpetuator and government a saintly corrector of cronyism and inequality. This characterization is largely driven by misperceptions. Capitalism is viewed as a system that favors the elite at the expense of everyone else (crony capitalism), rather than one that promotes economic liberty and opportunity for all (free market capitalism). The state is meanwhile viewed as a benevolent and omniscient corrector of market failures and provider of public goods (romantic view of politics), rather than a political system operated by agents whose actions may reflect their own self-interest and not the welfare of the general public (public choice view). These misperceptions result in not only a distorted understanding of the institutional structure that underlies capitalism and the mechanism in which income is distributed, but also lead to perilous reform prescriptions that undermine free market capitalism and generate unintended consequences that act to reduce individual and societal well-being.A theory is outlined that links an economy’s institutional environment to the type of capitalism, entrepreneurship, and inequality to emerge in society. Institutions that constrain the discretionary authority of government incentivize productive entrepreneurship and facilitate free market capitalism, giving rise to a natural or market determined income distribution and opportunity for economic mobility. Institutions that do not sufficiently constrain the authority of government incentivize unproductive entrepreneurship and facilitate the development of crony capitalism, resulting in structural inequality and little opportunity for economic mobility. Empirical evidence suggests that, in the long-run, sound monetary institutions and legal institutions that protect private property rights and uphold the rule of law are associated with free market capitalism, greater living standards and a more egalitarian distribution of income. The practical implications of this research for the future of capitalism are discussed.

How Democracy Could Cause Economic Growth: The Last 200 Years

In this paper we explore current understandings of the inuence of political rights, among historical legacies, on economic development. We construct variables for selected political regimes for 1820-2000. We nd signicant association between individual rights and economic growth. We argue that current understanding of political regimes supportive of growth (Acemoglu, etc), should parse the concept of property rights to include the protection of the individual in their focus on private property rights protection, alone, respected in various forms of government, are insucient; what matters is the security of individuals from arbitrary arrest, regardless of type of regime. Discretionary rights of rulers or democratic governments to arrest citizens undermines the protection of private property rights and other attributes classically given to democratic foundations of economic growth, for example, free press, freedom of the exercise of religious belief. We suggest, as a research agenda, that the power of the politically competitive system therefore comes from weakening discretionary authority over law enforcement.

Calculating Bandits: Quasi-Corporate Governance and Institutional Selection in Autocracies

This paper applies the logic of economic calculation to the actions of autocrats. We model autocrats as stationary bandits who use profit-and-loss calculations to select institutions that maximize their extraction rents. We find in many cases autocrats achieve rent maximization through creating and protecting private property rights. This in turn yields high levels of production, with expropriation kept low enough to incentivize continued high production. Importantly, while this leads to increasing quantities of available goods and services over time, it does not lead to true development; that is, the coordination of consumer demand with producer supply through directing resources to their highest-valued uses. We apply our model to the authoritarian governments of Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, showing how they function as quasi-corporate governance organizations in the business of maximizing appropriable rents.

Judicial Protection of Private Property Rights in Ethiopia: Selected Themes

Judicial Protection of Private Property Rights in Ethiopia: Selected Themes

Evaluating Alternative Measures of Institutional Protection of Private Property and Their Relative Ability to Predict Economic Development

Economic theory and a growing body of empirical literature suggest that private property rights are an important determinant of economic development. In this paper, four commonly used measures of institutional protection of private property rights are assessed, including their relative ability to predict the level of GDP per capita. The risk of expropriation measure from the International Country Risk Guide, the rule of law measure from the World Governance Indicators, and the property rights index from the Economic Freedom of the World exert a similar and robust positive impact on the level of economic development. The executive constraints measure from Polity IV exerts a much smaller impact, and is sensitive to the model specification. The relative strengths and weaknesses of each measure are also addressed. The analysis provides researchers with guidance on selecting an appropriate measure of private property institutions for studies of economic performance.

Does accounting conservatism improve the corporate information environment?

This study investigates whether and how accounting conservatism improves the corporate information environment. We argue that conservatism facilitates the flow of firm-specific information from corporate insiders to outsiders and leads to a high-quality information environment. Using the Basu (1997) model to capture the extent of accounting conservatism and firm-specific return variation to proxy for the quality of information environment, we find that conservatism is positively associated with the improvement of the corporate information environment in our sample of 43 countries. We also find that the information role of conservatism is more pronounced in countries with weaker protection of private property rights, suggesting that conservatism substitutes for legal institutions in ensuring the quality of information environment.

Institutions, democracy and growth in the very long run

We tested the hypothesis of the political basis for economic rights and constructed our own variables of political regimes’ classification for the years 1820–2000. We found significant positive interdependencies between democracy indicators and economic growth. The protection of private property rights requires, first and foremost, due guarantees for personal immunity. Discretionary arrests and property seizures undermine any formal guarantees of private property, low taxation benefits, etc. Personal immunity should be defended even for “unpleasant” persons or for the possible political opponents of the country’s ruler.

To the question about the protection of property right

The paper analyzes the concept of legal protection and legal protection of civil rights, which is a prerequisite for research institute of protection of private property rights. Determining the nature of the right to defense can establish its place in the structure of legal ownership.