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Law and economic development in England: new evidence from acts of Parliament, 1510-1850

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Bogart

    (University of California-Irvine)

  • Gary Richardson

    (University of California-Irvine)

Abstract

"During the eighteenth century Parliament passed increasing numbers of acts affecting property rights. The Acts enabled individuals to sell, mortgage, lease, and improve land previously bound by legal legacies; they granted rights to organizations, such as turnpikes, improvement commissioners, and canal companies, which supplied local public goods; and they replaced open or common rights with private property rights in agricultural land. Parliamentary legislation in these areas increased to such an extent that acts changing property rights became one of the main activities of Parliament during the years leading up to the Industrial Revolution. This essay documents these trends and discusses their likely effects on the economy"

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Bogart & Gary Richardson, 2006. "Law and economic development in England: new evidence from acts of Parliament, 1510-1850," Working Papers 6018, Economic History Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehs:wpaper:6018
    as

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    File URL: http://www.ehs.org.uk/dotAsset/4fb9d095-5599-4885-af0d-e14211c4b490.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Clark, Gregory, 1998. "Commons Sense: Common Property Rights, Efficiency, and Institutional Change," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(1), pages 73-102, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General

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