Securing property rights: a dilemma experiment in Austria, Mexico, Mongolia, South Korea and the United States

Article


Ahn, T., Balafoutas, L., Batsaikhan, M., Campos-Ortiz, F., Putterman, L. and Sutter, M. 2016. Securing property rights: a dilemma experiment in Austria, Mexico, Mongolia, South Korea and the United States. Journal of Public Economics. 143, pp. 115-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.08.015
TypeArticle
TitleSecuring property rights: a dilemma experiment in Austria, Mexico, Mongolia, South Korea and the United States
AuthorsAhn, T., Balafoutas, L., Batsaikhan, M., Campos-Ortiz, F., Putterman, L. and Sutter, M.
Abstract

Secure property rights result from a combination of public enforcement, private protective measures, and voluntary norm-compliance. We conduct a laboratory experiment to study how culture interacts with institutions in shaping individuals' behaviors and group outcomes in a property rights dilemma. The experiment is conducted in five countries: Austria, Mexico, Mongolia, South Korea and the United States. We find that the security of property varies with the experimentally available institutions and country-level indicators such as trust and quality of government. Subjects from countries with higher levels of trust are more likely to abstain initially from theft, devote more resources to production and support funding public protection of property through taxation. Our findings highlight the relevance of cultural and institutional factors, and their interaction, in addressing the collective action problem of safeguarding property rights.

KeywordsProperty rights; Institutions; Theft; Efficiency; Experiment; Social dilemma; Trust; Norms
Sustainable Development Goals16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
PublisherElsevier
JournalJournal of Public Economics
ISSN0047-2727
Electronic1879-2316
Publication dates
Online01 Sep 2016
PrintNov 2016
Publication process dates
Accepted31 Aug 2016
Submitted17 Jun 2015
Deposited25 Jan 2024
Output statusPublished
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.08.015
Web of Science identifierWOS:000386407800010
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/v65w4

  • 46
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Discrimination and daycare choice: evidence from a randomized survey
Batsaikhan, M., Gørtz, M., Kennes, J., Lyng, R., Monte, D. and Tumennasan, N. 2024. Discrimination and daycare choice: evidence from a randomized survey . The Journal of Human Resources. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1219-10617R4
Competitiveness of entrepreneurs and salaried workers
Balafoutas, L., Batsaikhan, M. and Sutter, M. 2023. Competitiveness of entrepreneurs and salaried workers. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4838
Accents, group identity, and trust behaviors: evidence from Singapore
Batsaikhan, M., He, T.-S and Li, Y. 2021. Accents, group identity, and trust behaviors: evidence from Singapore. China Economic Review. 70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101702
An honest day's pay: cooperation among entrepreneurs vs. students, and linkages to real-world business success
Batsaikhan, M. and Putterman, L. 2019. An honest day's pay: cooperation among entrepreneurs vs. students, and linkages to real-world business success. Southern Economic Journal. 86 (2), pp. 478-502. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12391
Trust and communication in a property rights dilemma
Ahn, T., Loukas, B., Batsaikhan, M., Campos-Ortiz, F., Putterman, L. and Sutter, M. 2018. Trust and communication in a property rights dilemma. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 149, pp. 413-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.01.009
Output decisions and price matching: theory and experiment
Batsaikhan, M. and Tumennasan, N. 2018. Output decisions and price matching: theory and experiment. Management Science. 64 (8), pp. 3609-3624. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2788
Trust, trustworthiness, and business success: lab and field findings from entrepreneurs
Batsaikhan, M. 2017. Trust, trustworthiness, and business success: lab and field findings from entrepreneurs. Economic Inquiry. 55 (1), pp. 368-382. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12359