Experimental Results on Bargaining Under Alternative Property Rights Regimes

The effect of alternative property rights regimes on the choice between taking an object and acquiring it via consensual exchange is experimentally explored in a two-period screening model. Experimental treatments involving card game implementation yield results that are generally consistent with equilibrium predictions. Comparative statics results across treatments suggest that variations in how legal entitlements are awarded by courts will have a significant impact on the observed choice between bargaining and expropriating an object