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Article
Ownership Concentration: Lessons from Natural Resources
Northwestern University Law Review
  • Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Texas A&M University School of Law
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2022
ISSN
0029-3571
Abstract

Concentration of ownership over land or other resources is both a sign and a cause of inequality. Concentration of ownership makes access to such resources difficult for those less powerful, and it can have negative effects on local communities that benefit from a more distributed ownership pattern. Such concentration goes against the antimonopoly principles behind the homesteading land policies and the legal regimes that regulate many natural resources. This Essay suggests that where concentration is a concern, one might draw lessons for reform by looking to the field of natural resources law, which employs a range of deconcentration mechanisms affecting fisheries, mineral extraction, farmland, and the like that have proven a considerable success. These deconcentration mechanisms have taken mostly two forms: restrictions on how much one rights holder can hold and restrictions on who can hold rights. These deconcentrating measures are more likely to be adopted in resources with a defined, relatively small market, with homogeneous uses and users, and where community externalities from concentration are assessable.

Num Pages
34
Publisher
Northwestern University School of Law
File Type
PDF
Citation Information
Vanessa Casado-Pérez. "Ownership Concentration: Lessons from Natural Resources" Northwestern University Law Review Vol. 117 Iss. 1 (2022) p. 37 - 70
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/vanessacasadoperez/25/