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Law and economic development in England: new evidence from acts of Parliament, 1510-1850

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Bogart

    (University of California-Irvine)

  • Gary Richardson

    (University of California-Irvine)

Abstract

"During the eighteenth century Parliament passed increasing numbers of acts affecting property rights. The Acts enabled individuals to sell, mortgage, lease, and improve land previously bound by legal legacies; they granted rights to organizations, such as turnpikes, improvement commissioners, and canal companies, which supplied local public goods; and they replaced open or common rights with private property rights in agricultural land. Parliamentary legislation in these areas increased to such an extent that acts changing property rights became one of the main activities of Parliament during the years leading up to the Industrial Revolution. This essay documents these trends and discusses their likely effects on the economy"

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Bogart & Gary Richardson, 2006. "Law and economic development in England: new evidence from acts of Parliament, 1510-1850," Working Papers 6018, Economic History Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehs:wpaper:6018
    as

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    File URL: http://www.ehs.org.uk/dotAsset/4fb9d095-5599-4885-af0d-e14211c4b490.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. N. F. R. Crafts & C. K. Harley, 1992. "Output growth and the British industrial revolution: a restatement of the Crafts-Harley view," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 45(4), pages 703-730, November.
    2. Bogart, Dan, 2005. "Did Turnpike Trusts Increase Transportation Investment in Eighteenth-Century England?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(2), pages 439-468, June.
    3. Clark, Gregory, 1998. "Commons Sense: Common Property Rights, Efficiency, and Institutional Change," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(1), pages 73-102, March.
    4. North, Douglass C. & Weingast, Barry R., 1989. "Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 803-832, December.
    5. Coase, R H, 1974. "The Lighthouse in Economics," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(2), pages 357-376, October.
    6. Acemoglu, Daron & Johnson, Simon & Robinson, James A., 2005. "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 385-472, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General

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