We build a simple formal model of governance. Investments and control rights over assets and labor are fully contractible, but final production decisions are ex ante uncontractible, and ex post negotiations are inefficient. If sunk costs are low, suppliers own assets and trade takes the form of...

Since China's implementation of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, Inner Mongolia's pastoral areas have faced challenges such as population outflow, aging, and the emptying of villages. To address these issues, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government promoted the "Collective...

This Brief examines the challenges in implementing laws protecting women's land rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. While some progress has been made in enacting legal protections, remaining discriminatory legislation, weak enforcement mechanisms, and conflicting rules and norms, notably, those...

Direct evidence on variations in work incentives across different property rights systems remains scarce. This paper examines absenteeism among individuals employed in worker cooperatives - firms that are ultimately controlled by their workforce. By leveraging employment data matched with sick...

In 2020 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revisited a spectrum allocation decision it made in 1999. The Agency found that frequencies set aside for specific technologies used by vehicles - Intelligent Transportation Services (ITS) - had been left largely unused. It crafted new rules,...

This study investigates the impact of land formalization projects on women's tenure security in Pangani Ward, Coastal Region, Tanzania, while also considering the broader global implications for women's land rights. Despite progressive legislation that guarantees equal land rights for women,...

The arbitrary sanctioning of Russia by Europe and the United States in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war does not correspond to the definition of property rights as an aspect of juridical rights, and nor does the definition of proprietary rights or property rights in political economy accord...

Many countries in the Americas impose restrictions on Indigenous land transactions to preserve Indigenous ownership, but these policies may inhibit economic growth. This paper evaluates the impact of Chiles 1993 Indigenous Law, which restricts the transfer, lease, and mortgaging of land in...

Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and World Bank data, we produce a novel estimation for the prevalence of informal entrepreneurship in 60 countries in the period 2006- 2022. Using a real option framework, we test the effect of business regulation, property rights protection, and the rule of...

We synthesize research on conflict as a fundamental economic phenomenon, arguing that the implications of the "dark side of self-interest" have received insufficient attention in economics. We define conflict as interactions where parties choose costly inputs that are adversarially combined...

The creation mandate is a call for humankind to be responsible stewards of the resources God entrusts to us as we endeavor to meet the needs of each human being and to live in shalom. The earth is endowed with finite resources, but humanity has unlimited wants, which means that trade-offs must...

Land is the major source of income for most African households, particularly those engaged in agriculture. In the region, property rights over land are largely governed by informal customary systems. These systems, while deeply rooted in tradition, may not always provide sufficient security of...

This paper examines whether granting property inheritance rights to women improves their participation in politics as election candidates in India. In patriarchal societies like India, conservative gender norms often discourage women from active political engagement, reinforced by social...

This paper applies a mental model approach to study the role of tenure security in farmers’ decisionmaking on agricultural investment in Uganda. We investigate the role that both perceived tenure security and formal land rights, measured by the possession of land certificates, play. Our focus...

Status-seeking exists in all societies but different societies value status differently. How does the importance of social status affect the mode of status-seeking? I consider a game in which status can be achieved through productive effort that increases wealth or through a contest in which...