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Optimal Property Rights in Financial Contracting

Author

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  • Kenneth Ayotte
  • Patrick Bolton

Abstract

This article adopts a definition of property rights from legal scholarship: A property right (in contrast to a contractual right) is enforceable, not only against the parties to a contract, but also against third parties outside the contract. In a financial contracting setting, we ask: When should the law enforce a lender's contractual protections as property rights, given that these rights may be hidden and costly for other lenders to discover? Our model explains why the law limits the creation and enforceability of property rights, and develops principles of optimal enforceability. These principles are often reflected in the law. The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com., Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenneth Ayotte & Patrick Bolton, 2011. "Optimal Property Rights in Financial Contracting," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(10), pages 3401-3433.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:24:y:2011:i:10:p:3401-3433
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhr053
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    Cited by:

    1. Arruñada, Benito, 2017. "Property as sequential exchange: the forgotten limits of private contract," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 753-783, December.
    2. Efraim Benmelech & Nitish Kumar & Raghuram Rajan, 2024. "The Decline of Secured Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(1), pages 35-93, February.
    3. Niloy Bose & Richard Cothren & Nazanin Sedaghatkish, 2024. "Endogenous property rights, credit market, and economic development," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 26(2), April.
    4. Benito Arruñada & Marco Fabbri & Daniele Nosenzo & Giorgio Zanarone, 2025. "Insider Collusion as a Threat to Property Rights: Experimental Evidence from West Africa," Working Papers 2025-11, FEDEA.
    5. Jason Roderick Donaldson & Denis Gromb & Giorgia Piacentino, 2025. "Conflicting Priorities: A Theory of Covenants and Collateral," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 80(3), pages 1739-1768, June.
    6. Yun Liu & Yifei Zhang & Heyang Fang & Xin Chen, 2022. "SMEs’ line of credit under the COVID-19: evidence from China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 807-828, February.
    7. Tomita, Yosuke, 2024. "Does downside risk in the stock market differ by legal origin? The impact of property rights and the rule of law on stock markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. Benito Arruñada & Giorgio Zanarone & Nuno Garoupa, 2019. "Property Rights in Sequential Exchange," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(1), pages 127-153.
    9. Giuseppe Dari-Mattiacci & Carmine Guerriero & Zhenxing Huang, 2016. "The Property-Contract Balance," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 172(1), pages 40-64, March.
    10. Hoang, Daniel & Ruckes, Martin, 2017. "Corporate risk management, product market competition, and disclosure," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 107-121.
    11. Donaldson, Jason Roderick & Gromb, Denis & Piacentino, Giorgia, 2020. "The paradox of pledgeability," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(3), pages 591-605.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • K12 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Contract Law

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