The Development of Property Rights on Frontiers: Endowments, Norms, and Politics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; Monash University; Universidade de Brasilia
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050712000356
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 741-770
• 关键词: institutions; LAND; aborigines; australia; HISTORY; GROWTH; RULE

摘要

How do property rights evolve when unoccupied areas attract economic use? Who are the first claimants on the frontier and how do they establish their property rights? When do governments provide de jure property rights? We present a conceptual framework that addresses these questions and apply it to the frontiers of Australia, the United States, and Brazil. Our framework stresses the crucial role of politics as frontiers develop by identifying situations where the competition for land by those with de facto rights and those with de jure rights leads to violence or potential conflicts.