This is a background paper to the Pacific Possible report. The Pacific Island countries control one of the World's largest and healthiest tuna stock. They have been able to significantly increase revenue from fisheries licenses over the past few years through the introduction of the Vessel Day...

Elizabeth H. Petersen argues that economists and other social scientists are increasingly focusing their attention towards institutions (defined as humanly-devised rules) as critical determinants of economic, social and political growth and development. Institutions responsible for the...

"We show that grandfathering fishing rights to local users or recognizing first possessions is more dynamically efficient than auctions of such rights. It is often argued that auctions allocate rights to the highest-valued users and thereby maximize resource rents. We counter that rents are not...