期刊名称：Gruter Institute Working Papers on Law, Economics, and Evolutionary Biology
出版年度：2001
卷号：1
出版社：Bepress
摘要：This essay explores a puzzle
from the world of property theory, that is from the world of mine and yours, the
basic social organizational molecules with which we build our sense of justice.
The puzzle is this: why is there so little variety in the forms of property
people use across the world? We lack a convincing theory for the "economy of
property forms," where economy is understood in the sense of parsimony. Three
partial answers have been suggested. First, the limited number of forms may keep
people from wasting property through over-fragmentation. Second, the limit may
economize on communication costs for third parties who want to buy or sell
property. Third, the limit may be an inexpensive way to help verify ownership.
But none of these theories accounts for why obsolete forms persist in many
economies, and why value-increasing forms fail to be created. Perhaps a more
satisfying answer will require looking to political economy and to cognitive
psychology. For now, the economy of property forms remains a provocative
question.
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