No description available.

Limitations on the customizability of property rights (the numerus clausus principle) are a puzzling feature of the common law conception of property. An economic rationale, built upon 1) the pivotal role that rules of exclusion play in fostering user innovation, and 2) the role that psychological ownership plays in preventing recontracting around governance rules, is offered to explain the modern persistence of the doctrine. Application of the numerus clausus principle limits the proliferation of governance rules in the economy (governance), replacing them with rules of exclusion (exclusion). Exclusion unifies rights of use and possession in assets, while governance separates, to a greater or lesser degree, possession from use rights. Full user, sale and the policy against restraints on alienation are the paradigmatic examples of exclusion; while governance is exemplified by servitudes and contractually-burdened assets. Exclusion plays a critical role in user innovation because it allows the possessors of assets to unilaterally seek out new uses of those assets. Whenever the law replaces governance with exclusion, user innovation is more likely to occur because the possessors of assets can apply their unique, rival and nontransferable human capital inputs to tangible assets, generating outputs (the new uses) that move resources to their higher-value uses. This is how all innovation, both high-tech and low-tech, occurs. In addition to negatively impacting user innovation, governance hinders recontracting because both possession and legal entitlements (rights of use in an asset) give rise to feelings of psychological ownership, and individuals will not recontract over uses that they feel they already ‘own’. The user innovation theory’s focus on search, innovation and human capital explains why the numerus clausus principle remains most robust in the areas of personal and intellectual property (where users generate a significant amount of innovation), and why it has been somewhat attenuated in the area of real property (where we restrict search in order to facilitate coordination of land uses). It also explains why the law enforces the principle even when the cost of providing notice of governance rules is low.

<p>Abstract to be made available soon.</p>

Property rights are crucial in shaping foreign investment and its socio‐economic outcomes. Their allocation, protection and regulation influence the way the risks, costs and benefits of an investment are shared. For investors, the protection of property rights is a tool to shelter their business interests from arbitrary host state interference. For local people affected by an investment project, it may offer an avenue to secure their livelihoods, through providing safeguards against arbitrary land takings. Tensions may arise between different sets of property rights, as host state regulation to strengthen local resource rights may raise project costs and interfere with investors’ rights ‐ for example, under the international‐law regulatory taking doctrine, or “stabilization clauses” in investor‐state contracts. While there are vast literatures about the international law on foreign investment, the human right to property, and national law on investment, land and natural resources in Africa, this study analyses in an integrated way how the different sets of property rights involved in an investment project are legally protected under applicable law, whether national, international or “transnational”. The study explores whether the property rights of foreign investors and affected local people tend to enjoy differentiated legal protection; and, if so, whether the legal protection of “stronger” property rights may constrain efforts to strengthen “weaker” ones. This research question has both theoretical and practical implications. Differences in the strength of legal protection may affect negotiating power. Weak legal protection and negotiating power make local resource users vulnerable to arbitrary dispossession of their lands. From a theoretical standpoint, linking legal analysis to an analysis of negotiating power in foreign investment projects can provide insights on the relationship between law and power ‐ in a globalised world, does the law serve more powerful interests, can it be used to empower disadvantaged groups, or is it rather irrelevant?.

This study focuses on one particular local housing market in North East Scotland, and proposes an effective approach to understanding a number of aspects of the study area. The main dataset was obtained from the Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre, which was then combined with Land Value Information Unit data and Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics to provide rich information on the dwellings listed on the market from April 1984 to June 2010.  In addition, local market practitioners were interviewed. The study finds the study area has a spatial hierarchy structure – housing attributes have different effects on house prices in Aberdeen city, city suburb, accessible rural in Aberdeenshire, and remote rural areas.  Each spatial submarket is further divided into five segments according to dwellings’ qualities to see the effect of counter-urbanisation on both rural and urban housing markets.  The theoretical analysis suggests that an external demand shock for a particular type of housing in the rural housing market is likely to trigger house unit filtering as well as households filtering if new constructions are allowed, and/or conversion cost is low, and/or cross-price elasticity if demand is high.  This theoretical analysis is supported by descriptive statistics and causality test results. The study also finds that pricing strategy has a significant impact on transaction price.  Decomposition modelling results suggest properties sold under the closed bid “offers over” system sell 20%- 40% more than those sold under “fixed price”.  This advantage of the “offers over” system however, may be counteracted if the property stays on the market over three months.  As the survival analysis shows that although “offers over” properties sell faster at the beginning of the list, “fixed price” is more favourable if the property has been on the market for a relatively long time.  Findings are likely to change as a result of the introduction of the Home Report.  The study finds Home Report has eliminated the advantage of the “offers over” pricing system from the selling price view point.

Because of the importance attached to intangible assets in the modern world, the remedies for intellectual property infringement have been brought under the spotlight.  In this background, there has been an increased interest regarding the scope and desirability of using criminal sanctions for the protection of IPR, especially in cases involving commercial-scale counterfeiting and piracy.  However, this development has been received with mixed sentiments, with some commentators criticising the legitimacy of using criminal law for the protection of private property rights. This thesis undertakes a search for a coherent justification for criminalising intellectual property infringement.  The thesis also attempts to demonstrate the evolution and progression of criminal enforcement of IPR at the international level.  Furthermore, the thesis analyses crosscutting issues encountered by developing countries when enforcing criminal sanctions, thereby explaining the reluctance to reform criminal remedies for IPR infringement in these countries.  The thesis identifies criminal sanctions as a desirable remedy for countering the rising threat of piracy and counterfeiting.  It also highlights the achievements and shortcomings of multilateral actions taken thus far in relation to criminal IPR enforcement, thereby providing valuable insights for future negotiations.  Finally, it emphasises that a criminal IPR enforcement regime in any jurisdiction should be evaluated with caution, giving due consideration to other economic development interests and priorities of developing countries.

This thesis examines the relationship between two property investment markets within the context of price discovery and co-integration. This thesis is different from other similar studies since the price discovery process is examined by employing a transaction based data. Using Malaysia’s property market as a case study provides this thesis with the opportunity to use transaction-based information. In addition, it has been noted that many studies on price discovery and co-integration have focused on markets that are mature and where the relevant market information is available. Since no similar information is available as far as Malaysia property market is concerned, this thesis requires the construction of a commercial property index. The construction of the index based on transaction information is a prerequisite for subsequent analyses. A hedonic method is considered for this task and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimator has been employed to produce respective indices. Vector Autoregressive as well as Engle and Granger Co-integration tests have then been employed to examine the relationship between direct and indirect markets. Findings from both analyses indicate that price discovery emerges from the indirect to the direct market. Evidence of long-run co-integration with faster adjustment towards equilibrium suggests no diversification benefit can be achieved between direct and indirect property markets. This finding reasserts the efficiency of indirect property markets in absorbing information. The originality of this thesis comes in the form of the data provided for the analysis. It has been recognised that this is not the first study to use transaction-based information. Nevertheless, the significant contribution of this thesis lies in the time-series data of direct commercial property which was developed from the market’s actual transaction information, none of which previously existed. A similar study is recommended for a mature property market that is transparent and open. Such markets seem to provide a direct property market that is much more efficient.

No description available.

Common property of spouses The topic of my thesis is common property of spouses. It is an institute of civil law governed by the provisions of Civil Code. I have chosen this particular topic because I am interested in it and in civil law in general and I find it very important. Future spouses should be aware of the legislation that regulates the property rights and duties between them. Arranging the property relations before the marriage can prevent future conflicts. The work deals with the current legislation governing the institute of common property of spouses in relation with the judicial decisions. The goal of my thesis was to explore the current legislation, to point out some of the disputable questions and to seek to define several legal terms that are not clear at the first sight. The work also briefly deals with the project of the new Civil Code. The thesis is composed of seven chapters. Chapter one is introductory. It defines the term of common property of spouses and briefly deals with the former institute of equal ownership of spouses. Chapter two is divided into two subchapters. The first one describes the establishment of the common property of spouses. The other deals with its object and contains three parts. Part one describes assets, part two looks at debts and part three focuses...

Sammanfattning Bakgrund och syfte: Företag i det privata näringslivet, som tillverkar högteknologiska produkter, möter en dynamisk marknad som styr hur kärnverksamheter med nödvändighet måste anpassa sig för att på ett konkurrenskraftigt vis möta efterfrågade varor och tjänster. För att kunna producera varor och utveckla en verksamhet krävs stödverksamheter som till exempel hanterar fastighetsbehov och facility management tjänster (FM-tjänster). Ett sätt att mäta kostnadseffektivitet i fastighetsbestånd och FM-tjänster kan vara mätbara key performance indicators (KPI). KPI är genom tidigare studier kända. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka KPI som är mest kostnadseffektiva. Metod: Studien har inhämtat data genom analys av fastighetsbeståndets delar ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv. Koncernens fastighetbestånd på två olika orter (A &amp; B) har komparativt studerats med målsättningen att hitta skillnader i prestanda och kostnadseffektivitet vid jämförelse av KPI mellan de båda orterna. KPI beräknades och av utvald data kunde analysen finna att det finns större potential i vissa KPI och de har därmed större inverkan på kostnadseffektiviteten. En modell skapades för beslutsprocessen vid förvärv, bibehållande och utveckling samt anskaffning av fastigheter och FM-tjänster. Resultat: Det finns kostnadsposter med hög potential för besparing men vilken post som är mest lönsam att göra besparing i skiftar mellan orterna. KPI måste inte skilja mellan orterna vilket kan betyda att de är kostnadseffektiva eller att de är lika kostnadsdrivande på båda orterna. Optimala värden för KPI saknas (normvärde). Konklusion: KPI kan prioriteras och har olika stor inverkan på kostnadseffektivitet i fastighetsbeståndet. KPI har en inbördes relation. Hur stark relationen är behöver undersökas genom framtida studier. / Background and purpose: Companies in the private sector, which manufactures high-tech products, face a dynamic market that controls how the core activities necessarily have to adapt to a competitive way to meet demand goods and services. In order to produce goods and develop a business requires support activities such as handling property needs and facility management services (FM) services. One way to measure the cost of the property portfolio and FM services can be measurable key performance indicators (KPI). KPI is through previous studies known. The purpose of the study is to investigate the KPI that is most cost effective. Method: The study has collected data through analysis of property portfolio share from an economic perspective. The Group's property portfolios in two different locations (A &amp; B) have been comparatively studied with the aim to identify differences in performance and cost when comparing the KPI between the two places. KPI is calculated and the selected data analysis could find that there is more potential in some KPI with the opportunity to have a greater impact on cost. A model was created for decision-making on the acquisition, retention and development and acquisition of real estate and FM services. Results: There are cost items with high potential for savings but which entry is most profitable to make savings in shift between the resorts. KPI does not distinguish between the resorts which could mean that they are cost-effective or that they are as cost drivers in both locations. Optimal values for KPI are missing (standard value). Conclusion: KPI can be prioritized and have different effects on the cost of the property portfolio. KPI has a peer relationship. How strong the relationship is needs to be examined by future studies.