Abstract

ZOUBOULAKIS, Michel. Founding Property Rights: The Classics and the Moderns. Rev.econ.inst. [online]. 2016, vol.18, n.34, pp.13-28. ISSN 0124-5996.  https://doi.org/10.18601/01245996.v18n34.02.

The history of a concept sometimes discovers mental representations and particular expressions that reveal distinct theoretical developments. Although the economic analysis in terms of "property rights"started in the early 1960's by Alchian, Coase and Demsetz, theconcept itself was familiar to Classical Political Economists. In its broad sense, the definition of property rights was present in Adam Smith's Lectures of 1762-63. It evolved significantly with Ricardo (1817),Senior (1836), and J.S. Mill (1848). Recalling the ideas of the Classics about the rights to own and use the basic production factors -namely labour, land and capital- and their output, will considerably improve the current debate.

Keywords : Property rights, Adam Smith, Ricardo, Senior, John Stuart; JEL: B12, B52, D23, P14.

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