Title: Incomplete Property Right on Chinese Public Scenic Spots and Related Economic Analysis
Abstract: This research focuses on the property right of scenic spots which are owned by or by the collective,namely scenic spots.In China,world heritage sites,national parks,geological parks,cultural relics and resorts belong to this category.In the operation of these scenic spots,two opposite views have been proposed which are the National Park approach and the property-right transfer approach.Some argue that scenic spots in China should be operated by the National Park approach,while others believe that a private company should be contracted to lead the management and operation of these sites.It seems obvious that the debate is still going on since the property rights of such scenic spots have already been claimed unambiguously a long time ago.This research finds that the property right which is soundly declared to belong to all people in fact is ambiguous.In some cases,it may be said to be owner-free.In order to further explain the behavior of the operators of scenic spots,it is necessary to analyze the actual property right status of the scenic spots. Property rights play a crucial role in an economy.Many studies have been done by Coase(1937,1960),Alchian(1965,1993),Demsetz(1967),Barzel(1989),and Cheung(1969,1970,1974).All Private owners have strong incentives to use their property right in the most valuable way.Based on private property right,the two sides in a transaction can choose a contract to avoid risk,reduce costs and improve efficiency.In fact,the rent of a resource will dissipate without private property right.Private property right is a comprehensive structure that contains a variety of right elements.If a portion in a bundle of property rights is prohibited,the rent will certainly dissipate to some degree,which is named the first type of incomplete property rights.When an owner voluntarily yields his part or of the control powers in exchange for benefits,while portions of a property rights bundle are designated to different subjects due to regulation,the second type of incomplete property rights appears.Incomplete property rights lead to less efficient allocation of resources. Based on the condition of acknowledging personal property rights,any collective could be traced to the individual in the collective and the individual would be responsible for his way of administration.Nevertheless,the legislative system in China claims scenic spots to be owned by all-people or groups of people,but not any specific individual person.This means nobody will take the responsibility for running the scenic spot.Hence,The public under this context cannot be attributed to be any specific personnel.Transfer of scenic spots' property rights should start from the institutions.In China,disposed rights of scenic spots belong to the local government,while profits come to the central government.This setting fails to motivate local governments to maximize profits and thereof results in low efficiency.When the economic reforms began,the division of profits between central and local governments were established,and after 1993,local governments became the leading authority in running scenic spots.However,after the merge of income rights and disposed rights,local governments can maximize their own interests without considering all-people or groups of people.Local authorities may abandon long-term interests for short-term advantages without a precise ownership endowment. This study focuses on incomplete property rights in Chinese scenic spots,analyzes its historical origin and present status and explains the consequences in running scenic spots in China.A more thorough theoretical framework needs to be built to give a full picture of this phenomenon by further deep research in the field,taking some methodology from anthropology and sociology.This should be discussed in future research.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot