Elites and Property Rights

Abstract

An elite derives its status from its relationship to property, whether physical or human capital. While stable property rights are necessary for everyday business, unstable property rights that result in major institutional changes (such as land reform) may have a positive impact on economic development. When are the 'wrong' property rights right? Institutional changes have a positive impact on economic development when a country's elite can manage them. To support this generalization we examine the managerial capacity associated with elite status, highlighting which capabilities enable them to control changes in property rights regimes to their individual and national advantage. We compare how nationalization of foreign firms, a radical change in property rights, was managed in Argentina, China, Korea and Taiwan after the Second World War.

A transformative post-developmental state? State institutions as change-makers in the Anthropocene

“…This points to a well-documented broader democratic problem: That in deeply unequal societies, elites that benefit from the current model have disproportionate political influence both in bringing governments to power and in influencing policy making and policy implementation (North andClark 2018, Amsden, Di Caprio, andRobinson 2012). However, the developmental state literature showed that resistance from entrenched elites is not impossible to overcome if the state is able to make visible benefits for the economy as a whole.…”

The Ambiguous Effects of Targeting Trade Surpluses

“…Different countries, and even regions within a given country may be more or less likely to engage in agricultural or industrial production, both for reasons of absolute or comparative advantage, and also due to the influence that local elites may play in implementing or allowing the development of legal structures conducive to industrial development and economic competition. (Amsden, 2012;Robinson, 2012) The process of development of infant industries and import-substitution takes time and resources. (Prebisch, 1959;Chenery, 1975) Domestic developers must import costly inputs during the transition period; they may not be able to access intellectual property due to intellectual property laws in already existing industrial economies.…”