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Property rights, entrepreneurship, and economic development

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Audrey Redford
Audrey Redford
Audrey Redford
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Abstract and Figures

The disparity in economic progress across nations still confound economists. However, economists know that institutions play a significant role in economic growth. The entrepreneurial activity within a society is shaped by the institutional foundation, especially the property rights structure. However, if property rights are not well-defined and well-enforced, the substance of this entrepreneurial activity may not be welfare-enhancing or growth-enhancing. What is still unclear is the mechanism by which better property rights are adapted in order to facilitate more productive entrepreneurship. By synthesizing insights from the literatures on the market process, the emergence of property rights, and institutional entrepreneurship, this paper presents a mechanism, specifically the ‘property rights institutional entrepreneur,’ that is alert to opportunities to introduce, redefine, or eliminate property rights in order to better facilitate market exchange. By characterizing this specific form of institutional entrepreneur, our understanding of the layers of property rights’ definition, provision, and enforcement is clearer. Property rights are grounded in the norms and customs of a society, but they receive feedback from the market. This feedback is a necessary component to thinking about how property rights change occurs and facilitates economic growth.
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Property rights, entrepreneurship,
and economic development
Audrey Redford
1
#Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract
The disparity in economic progress across nations still confound economists. However,
economists know that institutions play a significant role in economic growth. The
entrepreneurial activity within a society is shaped by the institutional foundation,
especially the property rights structure. However, if property rights are not well-
defined and well-enforced, the substance of this entrepreneurial activity may not be
welfare-enhancing or growth-enhancing. What is still unclear is the mechanism by
which better property rights are adapted in order to facilitate more productive entre-
preneurship. By synthesizing insights from the literatures on the market process, the
emergence of property rights, and institutional entrepreneurship, this paper presents a
mechanism, specifically the ‘property rights institutional entrepreneur,’that is alert to
opportunities to introduce, redefine, or eliminate property rights in order to better
facilitate market exchange. By characterizing this specific form of institutional entre-
preneur, our understanding of the layers of property rights’definition, provision, and
enforcement is clearer. Property rights are grounded in the norms and customs of a
society, but they receive feedback from the market. This feedback is a necessary
component to thinking about how property rights change occurs and facilitates eco-
nomic growth.
Keywords Austrian economics .Entrepreneurship .Property rights .Economic
development
JEL classification B53 .P14 .O43
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11138-019-00485-6
*Audrey Redford
amredford@wcu.edu
1
School of Economics, Management, & Project Management, Western Carolina University, 1
University Way, Cullowhee, NC 28723, USAsssss
Published online: 2 December 2019
The Review of Austrian Economics (2020) 33:139–161
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... ICTs, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, and the internet of things, promoted TTSbased EG conducive to the partnership flawed by a forward-thinking government, proactive entrepreneurs and NGOs, and a dynamic tech-savvy population. Therefore, the economic transition's success depends on the cultural change toward private property institutions and TTS as the public value of conducting peaceful social cooperation Redford, 2020;Zhang & Kimathi, 2022). ...
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