A market economy and civil society require specification and certification of property rights. Where property rights are recognized, allowable transactions are also institutionally specified. In this paper we describe and analyze the earliest documented transfer of property rights to land, in...

The legal owner of a stolen good generally puts a higher value on that good than does the thief. There are therefore potential gains from trade between a legal owner and a successful thief. However, by trading with a thief, the legal owner is encouraging theft for 'ransom'. Should then...

This paper examines the effect of introducing positive loading factors into insurance premia, in insurance markets consisting of groups of individuals in different risk categories. It is shown that that such loading factors may have far-reaching effects on insurance market equilibria.