Contracting for Property Rights

In this book the author examines the problems encountered in negotiations among claimants and the political and economic considerations that influence property rights arrangements. The histories of mineral rights, rights to range and timber land, as well as fishery and crude oil production rights in the United States are examined and reveal a surprising variety of contractual negotiations and economic outcomes. The author concludes that in addition to an analysis of distributional outcomes, an examination of the details of the political bargaining underlying property rights contracts is essential to an understanding of why rights emerge as they do. The book is an important contribution to both property rights theory and to American economic history.

Series editors' preface; 1. Contracting for property rights; 2. Analytical framework; 3. Contracting for mineral rights; 4. Contracting for changes in federal land policies; 5. Contracting in fisheries; 6. Contracting for the utilization of oil fields; 7. Concluding remarks; References; Index.

Libecap examines the problems in negotiations among claimants and the political and economic considerations that influence property rights arrangements. Through case studies of different natural resources, the author analyses a variety of contractual negotiations and economic outcomes. This book is an important contribution to property rights theory and American economic history.