Posted by Jonathan H. Adler · 25 August 2005 ·
Property Rights
I recently re-read the Economist's take on markets and the environment, "Economic Man, Cleaner Planet." In the article, I'm quoted disparaging "market mechanisms" as "faux market environmetnalism." As I recall, the author of the article was particularly intrigued with a book review I wrote with that title, available here. There I argued that replacing command-and-control regulations with taxes and tradable quotas is not much of an advance. It takes more than economic incentives to create a market. What's required are 3-D property rights -- that is, property rights that are definable, defendable, and divestible.