infonet-economy

In this paper we deal with voluntary and compulsory redistribution in an economy where the enforcement of property rights is costly. The definition and enforcement of property rights is one of the undisputed responsibilities of the government. However, the fact that the enforcement of property rights requires the investment of scarce resources has only rarely been systematically analyzed. In a world where the provision of "property rights" incurs opportunity costs, some of the basic economic principles concerning taxation and redistribution can be turned upside down.