Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
The Roles of the State and the Market in Establishing Property Rights
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 10,
no. 2, Spring 1996
(pp. 87–103)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Using the experiences of Eastern Europe as an example, this article argues that, contrary to the economists' assumption that property rights are a precondition of a market economy, market institutions are often a prerequisite for a viable private property regime. Progress in the development of complex property rights in Eastern Europe, thus, cannot be expected to come primarily from a perfection of the legal system. Instead, it is more likely to arise as a market response to the demand for property rights. Indeed, legal entitlements can only be expected to become effective against a background of self-enforcing market mechanisms.Citation
Rapaczynski, Andrzej. 1996. "The Roles of the State and the Market in Establishing Property Rights." Journal of Economic Perspectives 10 (2): 87–103. DOI: 10.1257/jep.10.2.87JEL Classification
- D23 Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
- P21 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Planning, Coordination, and Reform
- P26 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy; Property Rights