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Homo Economicus and the Economics of Property Rights

Author

Listed:
  • Dimitris Milonakis

    (University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece)

  • Giorgos Meramveliotakis

    (Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Greece)

Abstract

This article challenges some fundamental propositions of property rights theory by revealing the inability of new institutional economics to fully grasp the notion of property, as reflected in its narrow and problematic definition of property rights. The concept of property relations is proposed as better suited to capture the social and institutional aspects of property. By reconsidering the case of the Montagnais, originally used by Alchian and Demsetz for illustrative purposes, and drawing on the works of Polanyi and McManus, we show that the historical explanation of the emergence of (private) property rights provided by Alchian and Demsetz is flawed.JEL Codes: D02, D23, P14

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitris Milonakis & Giorgos Meramveliotakis, 2013. "Homo Economicus and the Economics of Property Rights," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 45(1), pages 5-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:45:y:2013:i:1:p:5-23
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sa, Haoxuan, 2020. "Do ambiguous property rights matter? Collective value logic in Lin Village," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Haoxuan Sa, 2021. "Urban Village Shareholding: Cooperative Economic Organization in Northeast China," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(2), pages 665-697, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    property rights; property relations; homo economicus; emergence; historical specificity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights

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