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The provision of lighthouses services: a political economy perspective

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  • Laurent Carnis

Abstract

Ronald Coase’s 1974 article on lighthouses and the Trinity House case, in particular, has triggered extensive debate on the notion of a public good, but also on the possibility of private production of public goods. The resultant literature has discussed the concept of private property and the characteristics of a public good, and offered an economic analysis of the status of lighthouses. This contribution sets out to situate the debate in the context of an economic policy for which the lighthouse is an asset subject to political rent seeking. Thus, it highlights the fact that the characteristics of rivalry and exclusion, which define the public good, are in fact influenced by governments, which decide the nature of the services produced by lighthouses. The weight of the institutional setting, together with political competition for the control of lighthouses, calls for interpretation relating to rent seeking. In this respect, the lighthouse, prior to being a capital asset, has already emerged as a political object that is a source of revenue for certain individuals. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Laurent Carnis, 2013. "The provision of lighthouses services: a political economy perspective," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 51-56, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:157:y:2013:i:1:p:51-56
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-012-9951-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Van Zandt, David E, 1993. "The Lessons of the Lighthouse: "Government" or "Private" Provision of Goods," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 47-72, January.
    2. Klein, Daniel B, 1990. "The Voluntary Provision of Public Goods? The Turnpike Companies of Early America," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(4), pages 788-812, October.
    3. Klein, Daniel B. & Fielding, Gordon J., 1992. "Private Toll Roads: Learning from the 19th Century," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt1ps0p68g, University of California Transportation Center.
    4. Robert D. Tollison & Roger D. Congleton (ed.), 1995. "The Economic Analysis Of Rent Seeking," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 592.
    5. William Barnett & Walter Block, 2007. "Coase and Van Zandt on Lighthouses," Public Finance Review, , vol. 35(6), pages 710-733, November.
    6. Coase, R H, 1974. "The Lighthouse in Economics," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(2), pages 357-376, October.
    7. Elodie Bertrand, 2006. "The Coasean analysis of lighthouse financing: myths and realities," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 389-402, May.
    8. Walter Block & William Barnett, 2009. "Coase and Bertrand on lighthouses," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 1-13, July.
    9. Elodie Bertrand, 2006. "The Coasean analysis of lighthouse financing: myths and realities," Post-Print hal-03507599, HAL.
    10. Elodie Bertrand, 2009. "Empirical investigations and their normative interpretations: A reply to Barnett and Block," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 15-20, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rosolino A. Candela & Vincent J. Geloso, 2020. "The Lighthouse Debate and the Dynamics of Interventionism," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 289-314, September.
    2. Carnis Laurent, 2014. "The Political Economy of Lighthouses: Some Further Considerations," Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 143-165, December.
    3. Candela, Rosolino A. & Geloso, Vincent, 2019. "Why consider the lighthouse a public good?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Rosolino A. Candela & Vincent J. Geloso, 2018. "The lightship in economics," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 479-506, September.
    5. Martín Krause, 2015. "Buoys and Beacons in Economics," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 30(Spring 20), pages 45-59.
    6. Callais, Justin T & Geloso, Vincent, 2023. "The political economy of lighthouses in antebellum America," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Lighthouse; Rent seeking; Public goods; D23; D61; D72; H42;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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