Comparative Efficiency of Property Rights Regimes

Property rights regimes run from one polar extreme, communal or collective property, to another one, private ownership. Absence of property rights is yet another regime known as open access. Moreover, communal property is a concept that may refer to different situations depending on the extent of intervention by the communal authority. Likewise, private ownership differs according to the scope of use and transfer rights granted to the private owner. In this research project, focusing attention on rights of access and use of village-level natural resources, a comparative analysis of property regimes is undertaken based on transaction-cost economics. Special emphasis is put on governance costs, direct transaction costs of protecting property, and opportunity costs. Since the determinants of these various types of costs are highlighted, it is possible to derive precise predictions regarding the set of circumstances under which particular property regimes are more likely to arise.