Property rights (economics)

Property rights are constructs in economics for determining how a resource or economic good is used and owned,^[1] which have developed over ancient and modern history, from Abrahamic law to Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Resources can be owned by (and hence be the property of) individuals, associations, collectives, or governments.^[2]

Property rights can be viewed as an attribute of an economic good. This attribute has three broad components,^[3]^[4]^[5] and is often referred to as a bundle of rights in the United States:^[6]

the right to use the good
the right to earn income from the good
the right to transfer the good to others, alter it, abandon it, or destroy it (the right to ownership cessation)

Economists such as Adam Smith stress that the expectation of profit from "improving one's stock of capital" rests on the concept of private property rights.^[7]

^ Alchian, Armen A. "Property Rights". New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition (2008). A property right is a socially enforced right to select uses of an economic good.
^ Alchian, Armen A. (2008). "Property Rights". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty. ISBN 978-0-86597-665-8. OCLC 237794267. Archived from the original on 2007-04-09.
^ "Economics Glossary". Retrieved 2007-01-28.
^ Thrainn Eggertsson (1990). Economic behavior and institutions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34891-1.
^ Dean Lueck (2008). "property law, economics and," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
^ Klein, Daniel B. and John Robinson. "Property: A Bundle of Rights? Prologue to the Symposium." Econ Journal Watch 8(3): 193–204, September 2011
^ Richards, Howard (2004). Understanding the Global Economy. Peace Education Books. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-9748961-0-6.

[1] Alchian, Armen A. "Property Rights". New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition (2008). A property right is a socially enforced right to select uses of an economic good.

[2] Alchian, Armen A. (2008). "Property Rights". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty. ISBN 978-0-86597-665-8. OCLC 237794267. Archived from the original on 2007-04-09.

[3] "Economics Glossary". Retrieved 2007-01-28.

[4] Thrainn Eggertsson (1990). Economic behavior and institutions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34891-1.

[5] Dean Lueck (2008). "property law, economics and," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.

[6] Klein, Daniel B. and John Robinson. "Property: A Bundle of Rights? Prologue to the Symposium." Econ Journal Watch 8(3): 193–204, September 2011

[7] Richards, Howard (2004). Understanding the Global Economy. Peace Education Books. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-9748961-0-6.

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