The evolution of agricultural land institutions with respect to public goods. The case of France

Global health (of humans, animals and ecosystems) can be considered as a public good. Agriculture produces several negative externalities in this respect. We examine the role of the state in the evolution of the institutional environment that determines land allocation, as a key concern for this issue. To do so, we analyze the historical evolution of agricultural land institutions, using France as a case study. We show how, from the 18th to the 20th century, legal property rights evolved to take account some public goods, then specifically certain environmental public goods. The environmental and agricultural public policies in France are also analyzed from the land perspective up to the contemporary period, with the establishment of intermediate semi-public-professional institutions charged with market regulation and public order. In the end, we highlight that the State responds to collective actions of civil society by reforming the law to rely on both private contracts and private order, in an out-of-context imitation of the Common law tradition. Taking this result as a case of polycentric governance of a public good, and considering how it balances the power of norm validation, we discuss its actual effectiveness and the role of the state.