Table Of Content“This book surveys the case law on property from an economic perspective,
with the goal of offering new insights into the resolution of actual legal disputes
drawn from several countries. It will be of interest to law professors and students,
practicing lawyers with an interest in economics, and economists with an interest
in law.”
— Thomas J. Miceli, Professor of Economics,
University of Connecticut, USA.
“This book will be a welcome addition to those who teach law and economics
and those of an interdisciplinary disposition. With its primary focus on cases and
how Coasian/Post-Coasian economics might give new light to the issues that
encapsulate these cases it makes classic economic concepts such as externalities
come alive again as ideas to be taken out of the textbooks and experimented with
as a practical tool to understand the human condition.”
— Daniel Blackshields, School of Economics and Teaching Fellow
Reflective Practice, University College, Cork, Ireland; Chair for
Academic Standards, Cork University Business School.
Economic Analysis of Property
Law Cases
The discipline of law and economics has earned a reputation for developing
plausible and empirically testable theories on the social functions and the impact
of legal institutions. Property rights are a field in which this has been very
successful. In this book, economic property rights theories are applied to case
law in order to examine the practice and solution of real life conflicts. The author
examines the economic problems which are dealt with in these cases and evaluate
the courts’ decisions from an economic angle.
Cases are examined from across the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium and
Canada to allow international comparisons to be made. These comparisons reveal
that, regardless of the legal system, many legal issues have similar economic roots
and therefore similar models of economic analysis can be applied. The analysis
of these cases also shows that the discipline of law and economics is not only
successful in developing explanatory models but also useful to generate better
considerations and solutions for legal conflicts in individual cases.
This book aims to bridge the gap between the academic and professional
literature and demonstrate the benefits of the economic analysis of property rights
cases to all those who are interested in law and economics.
Boudewijn R.A. Bouckaert is an emeritus professor at the Law School of Ghent
University. He is a guest professor at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, at the
CEVRO-Institute in Prague and at the University of Torino.
The Economics of Legal Relationships
Sponsored by Michigan State University College of Law
Series Editors:
Nicholas Mercuro
Michigan State University College of Law
Michael D. Kaplowitz
Michigan State University
Predatory Pricing in Antitrust Law and Economics
Nicola Giocoli
The Role of Law and Regulation in Sustaining Financial Markets
Edited by Niels Philipsen and Guangdong Xu
Law and Economics
Philosophical issues and fundamental questions
Edited by Aristides N. Hatzis and Nicholas Mercuro
Public Procurement Policy
Edited by Gustavo Piga and Tünde Tatrai
Legal Origins and the Efficiency Dilemma
Nuno Garoupa, Carlos Gómez Ligüerre and Lela Mélon
Law and Economics of Public Procurement Reforms
Edited by Gustavo Piga and Tünde Tátrai
Law and Economics as Interdisciplinary Practice
Philosophical, Methodological and Historical Perspectives
Péter Cserne and Magdalena Malecka
Extraterritoriality and International Bribery
A Collective Action Perspective
Branislav Hock
Economic Analysis of Property Law Cases
Boudewijn R.A. Bouckaert
For a full list of titles in this series please visit www.routledge.com/The-Econo
mics-of-Legal-Relationships/book-series/ELR
Economic Analysis of Property
Law Cases
Boudewijn R.A. Bouckaert
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Boudewijn R.A. Bouckaert
The right of Boudewijn R.A. Bouckaert to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-02167-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-77758-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
Preface xi
Introduction 1
1 Definition and extent of property rights 6
1.1 Definition and extent of property rights in the economic
theory of law 6
1.2 Case analyses 25
Cases 54
2 Common property 57
2.1 Common property in the economic theory of the law 57
2.2 Case analyses 72
Cases 90
3 Nuisance 93
3.1 Nuisance in the economic theory of law 93
3.2 Case analyses 100
Cases 141
4 Fragmentation of property rights: easements 143
4.1 Fragmentation of property rights and easements in the
economic theory of law 143
4.2 Case analyses 150
Cases 169
5 Takings 171
5.1 The economic theory of takings 171
viii Contents
5.2 Case analyses 181
Cases 203
6 Verification of property rights: possession and registration 205
6.1 The economic theory on verification of property rights 205
6.2 Case analyses 215
Cases 228
Index 230
Figures
1.1 Optimal level of monitoring by animal owner 30
1.2 Right to light 36
1.3 Map of lots and alluvium 41
2.1 Economic classification of goods 62
2.2 Optimal commons 65
2.3 Ostrom’s social-ecological systems 67
3.1 Negative externalities 104
3.2 Demand-supply services 109
3.3 Efficient price and service level in sewerage provision 110
3.4 Negative externalities motor circuit 117
3.5 Prisoner’s dilemma: sound isolation 126
3.6 Negative externalities of soccer play 130
3.7 Prevention level: theft of diesel 140
6.1 Efficient time length of prescription period 211
