Government Allocation of Property Rights: Who Gets What?

The purpose of this research is to examine existing programs that confer property rights to learn what requirements shape them. We expect that if we can identify patterns in the design of such policies, these patterns will, in turn, suggest the political imperatives that constrain program design decisions. As a first cut in exploring the constraints underlying the design of regulatory programs that confer property rights, I have chosen to examine only the essential features of a relatively large sample of programs. I chose this option on the premise that the larger sample demonstrates patterns more effectively than in-depth analyses of a few cases would. Our sample includes 12 cases selected primarily because they were well-known and information on them was readily available. The oldest case in the group is a regulatory program that has been in force since 1927. The newest cases are still in their formative stages. The cases have been chosen from the narrow range of programs where a property right has been conferred to achieve a regulatory goal, although individually the programs may have varying purposes and designs. Three elements appear to determine the basic structure of a regulatory program that confers rights who the recipient is, how much he receives, and what he receives.