Research Handbook On The Economics Of Property Law

Leading scholars in the field of law and economics contribute their original theoretical and empirical research to this major Handbook. Each chapter analyzes the basic architecture and important features of the institutions of property law from an economic point of view, while also providing an introduction to the issues and literature.

Property rights and property systems vary along a large number of dimensions, and economics has proven very conducive to analyzing these patterns and even the nature of property itself. The contributions found here lend fresh perspectives to the current body of literature, examining topics including: initial acquisition; the commons, anticommons, and semicommons; intellectual property; public rights; abandonment and destruction; standardization of property; property and firms; marital property; bankruptcy as property; titling systems; land surveying; covenants; nuisance; the political economy of property; and takings. The contributors employ a variety of methods and perspectives, demonstrating the fruitfulness of economic modeling, empirical methods, and institutional analysis for the study of both new and familiar problems in property.

Legal scholars, economists, and other social scientists interested in property will find this Handbook an often-referenced addition to their libraries.

Contents:

Introduction
Henry E. Smith

1. Property Rights, Land Settlement and Land Conflict on Frontiers: Evidence from Australia, Brazil and the US
Lee J. Alston, Edwyna Harris and Bernardo Mueller

2. Commons, Anticommons, Semicommons
Lee Anne Fennell

3. The Anticommons Lexicon
Michael A. Heller

4. Private Property and Public Rights
Thomas W. Merrill

5. Toward an Economic Theory of Property in Information
Henry E. Smith

6. Unilateral Relinquishment of Property
Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

7. Standardization in Property Law
Henry E. Smith

8. Covenant Lite Lending, Liquidity, and Standardization of Financial Contracts
Kenneth Ayotte and Patrick Bolton

9. The Personification and Property of Legal Entities
George Triantis

10. Bankruptcy as Property Law
Barry E. Adler

11. The Law and Economics of Marital Property
Martin Zelder

12. Property Titling and Conveyancing
Benito Arruñada

13. Land Demarcation Systems
Gary D. Libecap and Dean Lueck

14. Servitudes
Carol M. Rose

15. The Economics of Nuisance Law
Keith N. Hylton

16. Acquiring Land Through Eminent Domain: Justifications, Limitations, and Alternatives
Daniel B. Kelly

17. The Rest of Michelman 1967
William A. Fischel

Index