This book by Daniel Cole and Elinor Ostrom, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics, shows how property rights systems affect the use of scarce natural resources. It is a rich source of information for those involved in conservation, land dispute resolution, land market regulation, public policy, and zoning.

Property Rights in Land widens our understanding of property rights by looking through the lenses of social history and sociology, discussing mainstream theory of new institutional economics and the derived grand narrative of economic development. As neo-institutional development theory has become a narrative in global history and political economy, the problem of promoting global development has arisen from creating the conditions for ‘good’ institutions to take root in the global economy and in developing societies. Written by a collection of expert authors, the chapters delve into social processes through which property relations became institutionalized and were used in social action for the appropriation of resources and rent. This was in order to gain a better understanding of the social processes intervening between the institutionalized ‘rules of the game’ and their economic and social outcomes. This collection of essays is of great interest to those who study economic history, historical sociology and economic sociology, as well as Agrarian and rural history.

In everyday practice, private and common property relations often accommodate a wide variety of demands made by the owners and users of land. In a stark contrast, many theories of property and land policy fail to recognize plural property relations. The polyrational theory of planning and property as employed in this book reconciles practice and theory. With international examples, this is a valuable resource for those concerned with town planning, land reform, land use and human rights.

This book examines how property rights are linked to socio-economic progress and development. It also provides a theoretical analysis, an economic/social analysis of planning, case studies of the implementation of planning and regulation instruments, practices related to law and planning, analysis of case laws in a particular segment. The interconnection between property, law and planning is a running theme throughout the book. The land question has been central to South Asian development on two counts: First, although the majority of the population relies on agriculture and allied activities their livelihood, landholding is highly skewed; second, urban planning is facing unprecedented challenges due to bourgeoning property values as well as gush of migrants to cities seeking livelihood. The response to these challenges in the form of laws and policies has been very large compared to the academic attention that is received. However, the measures emerging from planning and policies have had limited impact on the extent of the problems. This paradox calls for serious introspection and academic engagement that this book undertakes. The book further deals with the emerging discipline of planning law, which determines property value and use, and argues that regulatory issues of public policy determine the property valuation and property pricing.

This volume synthesizes insights from the vast literature on land policy, taking due account of actual experiences in policy implementation, and suggests ways to design land policies that promote growth as well as poverty reduction.