Until 1969, the City of Winnipeg had undertaken only two public housing projects even though the failure of the market to provide adequate housing for low-income Winnipeggers had been apparent since the beginning of the century. By 1919, providing housing was a significant issue in municipal politics that was embraced by civic officials, professionals, reformers, labour leaders and social democratic politicians. It also became a proxy issue for refighting the 1919 General Strike at city hall. However, Winnipeg’s business community proved effective opponents of public housing. The struggle for public housing was also a struggle for democracy. Up until the 1960s, public housing required approval by a referendum in which only the city’s property owners could vote. This rule deprived close to half the city’s voters — and virtually everyone who might qualify to live in public housing — of the right to vote. Over decades that barrier to democracy was whittled away. An NDP provincial government elected in 1969 added 11,144 units of public housing to the existing 568 units. Today public housing is once more under attack. Rather being treated as valued public assets, they are considered embarrassing encumberments that should be sold as part of a process of turning public housing over to the private sector. The struggle to protect and expand the provision of non-profit housing is undermined by the rupture in political memory of the long struggle to build public housing and the current political situation.

Secure property rights are central to economic development and stable government, yet difficult to create. Relying on surveys in Russia from 2000 to 2012, Timothy Frye examines how political power, institutions, and norms shape property rights for firms. Through a series of simple survey experiments, Property Rights and Property Wrongs explores how political power, personal connections, elections, concerns for reputation, legal facts, and social norms influence property rights disputes from hostile corporate takeovers to debt collection to renationalization. This work argues that property rights in Russia are better seen as an evolving bargain between rulers and rightholders than as simply a reflection of economic transition, Russian culture, or a weak state. The result is a nuanced view of the political economy of Russia that contributes to central debates in economic development, comparative politics, and legal studies.

Redistributing land rights is a tricky subject and one that easily becomes controversial as recent experience has shown. This new book calmly examines the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of land redistribution.

In this text, the author tracks the history of American copyright law through the 20th century, from Mark Twain's exhortations for 'thick' copyright protection, to recent lawsuits regarding sampling in rap music and the 'digital moment', exemplified by the rise of Napster and MP3 technology.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1867.