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The Development of Property Rights on Frontiers: Endowments, Norms, and Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2012

LEE J. ALSTON ,
EDWYNA HARRIS  and
BERNARDO MUELLER
LEE J. ALSTON*
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, Institute of Behavioral Studies and Department of Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder, 468 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0468. E-mail: lee.alston@colorado.edu.
EDWYNA HARRIS*
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Monash University, Building 11, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia. E-mail: edwyna.harris@monash.edu.
BERNARDO MUELLER*
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Economics, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, ICC Norte, Brasília- D.F., 70910-900. E-mail: bmueller@unb.br.
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Abstract

How do property rights evolve when unoccupied areas attract economic use? Who are the first claimants on the frontier and how do they establish their property rights? When do governments provide de jure property rights? We present a conceptual framework that addresses these questions and apply it to the frontiers of Australia, the United States, and Brazil. Our framework stresses the crucial role of politics as frontiers develop by identifying situations where the competition for land by those with de facto rights and those with de jure rights leads to violence or potential conflicts.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , 22 August 2012 , pp. 741 - 770
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2012

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