This is a survey of some theories of property rights, prepared for the Handbook of Organizational Economics, Princeton University Press, edited by R. Gibbons and J. Roberts. A central feature of property rights is that they influence economic efficiency not (only) directly, but (also) through...

There are two basic approaches to deterring socially harmful behavior: with the threat of litigation by private parties or with enforcement by public agencies. Both approaches are used in most countries, but in varying degrees. Private litigation is common in the United States and (to a lesser...