Full Citation

Title: Anarchy, Property Rights, and Violence: The Case of Post Gold Rush California

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2005

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Abstract: This paper uses new data from the squatter wars of the 1850s and 1860s in California, a period in which property rights were extremely uncertain, to investigate two issues related to property rights: i) the links among anarchy, production, and violence and ii) why contracts, which were available and enforceable in California, were so rarely used to mitigate the negative effects of uncertain property rights. The results have implications for understanding the historical development of agriculture in the United States, since squatting on agricultural land was prevalent throughout the United States, and for understanding agriculture in the Third World, since uncertain property rights in agricultural land are still an issue today.

Url: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228636689

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Clay, Karen

Publisher: Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Crime and Deviance, Poverty and Welfare

Countries: United States