Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
Summer 7-2025
Working Paper Number
2025-01
JEL Codes
N11, N51, Q25, K11
Author's RePEc Short ID
pka1455
Abstract
Economists have long argued that increasing resource scarcity can lead to more clearly defined individual property rights, but the precise mechanism whereby this occurs remains unclear to this day. This paper documents the role of politics in shaping the creation of individual property rights within the context of appropriative water law in early 20th century California, finding evidence of both party ideology and interest group influence in establishing a new system for administering appropriative water rights.
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Recommended Citation
Kanazawa, Mark, "Politics and Institutional change: The Water Commission Act of 1913" (2025). Department of Economics Working Paper Series. 22.
https://digitalcommons.carleton.edu/econ_repec/22
