9. 9. Institutional foundations of economic systems. The economic theory of property rights.

An economic system is the structure of production, allocation of economic inputs, distribution of economic outputs, and consumption of goods and services in an economy. It is a set of institutions and their social relations. Alternatively, it is the set of principles and techniques by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources.

An economic system can be defined as a "set of methods and standards by which a society decides and organizes the allocation of limited economic resources to satisfy unlimited human wants; how a society goes about transforming the natural world into material goods.

Alternatively, 'economic' refers to the organizational arrangements and process through which a society makes its production and consumption decisions. In creating and modifying its economic system, each society chooses among alternative objectives and alternative decision modes. Many objectives may be seen as desirable, like efficiency, growth, liberty, and equality.

The basic and general economic systems are:

• Market economy (the basis for several "hands off" systems, such as pure capitalism)

• Mixed economy (a compromising system that incorporates some aspects of the market approach as well as some aspects of the planned approach)

• Planned economy (the basis for several "hands on" systems, such as state socialism)

• Traditional economy (a generic term for older economic systems)

• Participatory economics (a system where the production and distribution of goods is guided by public participation)

• Gift economy (where an exchange is made without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards)

• Barter economy(where goods and services are directly exchanged for other goods or services)

Economic systems can be divided by the way they allocate economic inputs (the means of production) and how they make decisions regarding the use of inputs. The two major systems are Capitalism and Socialism. In a capitalist economic system, production is carried out to maximize private profit, decisions regarding investment and the use of the means of production are determined by competing business owners in the marketplace; production is based on the process of capital accumulation. The means of production are owned primarily by private enterprises. This is the most widely used system of economics, but has encountered much resistance and criticism due to the strength of social division in countries based on Capitalism.

In a socialist economic system, production is carried out to directly satisfy economic demand by producing goods and services for use; decisions regarding the use of the means of production are adjusted to satisfy economic demand based and investment (control over the surplus value) is made through a mechanism of inclusive collective decision-making. The means of production are either publicly owned, or are owned by the workers cooperatively. This is the less popular system of economics, due to it's vulnerability to exploitation as a result of the concept of human nature and greed, but no valid criticisms on the system itself have been found (All criticisms are based on what results from the application of greed to the system).

Property rights (economics)

A property right is the exclusive authority to determine how a resource is used, whether that resource is owned by government or by individuals. All economic goods have a property rights attribute. This attribute has four broad components:

• the right to use the good; the right to earn income from the good; the right to transfer the good to others; the right to enforcement of property rights.

The concept of property rights as used by economists and legal scholars (see property rights) are related but distinct. The distinction is largely seen in the economists' focus on the ability of an individual or collective to control the use of the good. For example, a thief who has stolen a good would not be considered to have legal (de jure) property right to the good, but would be considered to have economic (de facto) property right to the good.

Property rights to a good must be defined, their use must be monitored, and possession of rights must be enforced. The costs of defining, monitoring, and enforcing property rights are termed transaction costs.[3][4] Depending on the level of transaction costs, various forms of property rights institutions will develop. Each institutional form can be described by the distribution of rights. The following list is ordered from no property rights defined to all property rights being held by individuals[5]

1. Open access (res nullius)

2. State property

3. Common property

4. Private property

Open-access property is property that is not owned by anyone. It is non-excludable (no one can exclude anyone else from using it) and non-rival (one person's use of it does not prevent others from simultaneously using it). Open-access property is not managed by anyone, and access to it is not controlled. There is no constraint on anyone using open-access property (excluding people is either impossible or prohibitively costly). The tragedy of the commons should be called the tragedy of open access. 'Open-access property may exist because ownership has never been established, because the state has legislated it, or because no effective controls are in place, or feasible, ie, the cost of exclusion outweighs the benefits. The state can sometimes effectively convert open access property into private, common or public property by legislating to define rights and enforce them'.[6] Examples of open-access property are the atmosphere or ocean fisheries.

State property (also known as public property) is property that is owned by all, but its access and use is controlled by the state. An example is a national park.[6]

Common property or collective property is property that is owned by a group of individuals. Access, use, and exclusion are controlled by the joint owners. True commons can break down, but, unlike open-access property, common property owners have greater ability to manage conflicts through shared benefits and enforcement.[6]

Private property is both excludable and rival. Private property access, use, exclusion and management are controlled by the private owner or a group of legal owners.

С помощью теоремы Коуза были сделаны важные теоритические и практические выводы. Во-первых, она позволила полнее раскрыть экономический смысл прав собственности. Согласно Коузу, внешние эффекты возникают только тогда, когда права собственности недоопределены. Когда они четко специфицированы, все экстерналии «интернализуются» (внешние издержки становятся внутренними). Отсюда следовало, что путь к преодолению внешних эффектов лежит через создание прав собственности на них. Во-вторых, теорема Коуза выявила ключевое значение трансакционных издержек. Когда они высоки, распределение прав собственности перестает быть нейтральным фактором и начинает влиять на эффективность и структуру производства. В-третьих, она продемонстрировала, что ссылки на внешние эффекты – недостаточное основание для государственного вмешательства. В случае низких трансакционных издержек такое вмешательство излишне, в случае высоких далеко не всегда оправдано: поскольку действия государства также не обходятся без издержек