Review by Choice Review
The first hundred pages of this monograph trace the theories of property rights in philosophy and economics, elucidating the concepts advanced by a range of Western scholars (e.g., Locke, Hume, Commons, Veblen) and will primarily interest historians of economic thought. Those less interested in such matters will do well to skip these pages, reading instead the author's five-page summary in chapter 5. Most economists will find the other two sections of this study--"Property Rights in Planned Economies" (40 pages) and "Property Rights in Transition" (100 pages)--of more practical importance. In the middle section, Engerer (German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin) points out that even before these Central and Eastern European economies became "transition economies," state ownership had begun to erode and market institutions were becoming established. But she cogently counters those economists who believed that institutions such as private property and all it implies would emerge spontaneously with the introduction of a market economy. Instead, in the final part she demonstrates that even today private property remains a contentious issue. Hence, the transition will remain incomplete, and even privatization will not succeed until all the implications of private property are recognized and solutions implemented throughout these economies. Graduate and research collections. J. Prager New York University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
