The hottest Property Rights Substack posts right now

Property rights exist because we believe in them. They aren’t like physical things we can measure but are ideas that people create and agree on.
When disputes happen over property, it's often a matter of conflicting beliefs. The winner is decided based on how society views those beliefs, which can change over time.
Different cultures have different rules about property. These rules shape how property rights are understood and can even change who gets to keep what when someone passes away.

America's revolutionary era brought about innovative constitutional thinking in the realm of individual rights and the relationship between individuals and government.
The concept of self-ownership was strongly upheld by the founding generation, with property rights viewed as absolute and a primary responsibility of government was to protect those rights.
The founding generation emphasized the need to limit government powers to protect private property and contracts, institutionalize due process, and prevent abuse such as bills of attainders and ex post facto laws.

Property rights play a crucial role in discussions about market failure and influence institutional choices.
Common-pool resources often have ill-defined property rights, leading to governance challenges but offering opportunities for diverse institutional solutions.
Elinor Ostrom's work emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing ill-defined property rights to achieve effective environmental policy outcomes.

Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) can be better than local governments because they allow residents to agree on rules that everyone follows, promoting cooperation. This means people can manage shared resources and maintain property values together.
Many people choose to live in HOAs because they like the value and amenities these communities offer. Studies show that residents are willing to pay more for homes in these organized neighborhoods.
Critics of HOAs often overlook that local governments can have similar restrictions, and people have a choice in whether to move into an HOA. This shows that voluntary agreements can work well for communities.

The City of Detroit is proposing a land value tax to address the issue of Detroiters paying speculators' property taxes.
Current property tax systems benefit owners of unused or dilapidated properties over those with occupied homes in good condition.
Implementing a land value tax could shift the burden of property taxation away from Detroiters to speculators.

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Markets don't fail, they fail to exist.
Coase's focus on transaction costs and property rights revolutionized thinking about market failure.
Reducing transaction costs and clarifying property rights can enable decentralized solutions to market failures.

Property rights in real estate are distributed in ways that differ from typical property, with value determined by the surrounding environment.
Restaurants play a significant role in gentrifying neighborhoods, contributing to their perceived desirability and financial value.
Developers often provide incentives for restaurants to move in, as it can increase the overall value of the property and provide branding for the neighborhood.

In 11th and 12th century England, property disputes were settled through trial by battle, where champions fought for the parties. The process was a mechanism that revealed the true valuations of the property, encouraging settlements based on disclosed information.
The hiring of champions in trial by battle reflected a market system where those valuing the land more were willing to pay higher prices for victory. This 'violent auction' reduced transaction costs and led to negotiations that allocated property to those who valued it most.
Trial by battle, an apparently barbaric practice, can be understood through price theory to show how negotiations, based on revealed valuations during champion hiring, facilitated the resolution of property disputes. The practice was not ultimately about the battle itself, but about revealing the true worth of the property to incentivize settlements.

Housing scarcity can be linked to weak property rights, like the Supreme Court decision on zoning.
The Supreme Court decision in 1926 upheld single-family zoning, prioritizing certain privileges for exclusive neighborhoods.
The opinion reflected class prejudice and focused on spurious arguments about traffic, still relevant in housing advocacy today.

Bostrom's work on superintelligence explores the challenges of regulating AI and the potential risks it poses to humanity, raising crucial questions about AI's impact and our ability to control it.
Economic theories suggest that co-existence with superintelligences may be possible, with the concept of general equilibrium offering insights into managing interactions and maintaining balance.
Policy considerations such as property rights, violence prevention, and AI self-regulation can play key roles in shaping a future where superintelligences and humans can coexist peacefully.