About

Monday, March 26, 2012 1:43 PM. by

The International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is the first international comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. The parent organization Property Rights Alliance, has initiated a series of IPRI studies for the Hernando de Soto Fellowship Program that will contribute to developing accurate and comprehensive measures regarding property rights (PR) on an international scale.

The International Property Rights Index will provide the public, researchers and policymakers, from across the globe, with a tool for comparative analysis and future research on global property rights. In order to incorporate and grasp the important aspects related to property rights protection, the Index focuses on three areas: Legal and Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The current study analyzes data for 130 countries around the globe, representing ninety-seven percent of world GDP. Of great importance, the 2012 gauge incorporates data of PR protection from various sources, often directly obtained from expert surveys within the evaluated countries.

PREMISE OF THE HERNANDO DE SOTO FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The International Index of Property Rights (IPRI) is a product of the efforts of the Washington, DC-based Property Rights Alliance (PRA). The PRA is dedicated to the protection of property rights (physical and intellectual) in the U.S. and around the world. The PRA is an affiliate of the taxpayer advocacy organization, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

Despite the growing accessibility of international data and research regarding property rights, existing indices and studies traditionally focus on either the physical or intellectual aspects of property rights. Additionally, most global indices are dedicated to broader topic areas instead of a focused debate on property rights. However, noted exceptions include the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom and the Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of the World, which do address property rights, although in the context of assembling a larger snapshot of each country. To overcome the consequent lack of a more broadly defined property rights gauge, the PRA introduced the Hernando de Soto Fellowship in 2006. The annually offered fellowship provides continuous data development and concept improvement for the annual publication of the International Property Rights Index, presented here in its sixth edition. For more information, contact Kelsey Zahourek at kzahourek (@) propertyrightsalliance.org. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gaurav Tiwari is based at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he will be completing the Master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy in May 2012. As part of the fellowship, he traveled to Peru to work with scholars at the Lima-based Institute for Liberty and Democracy. Gaurav was a research associate for international economics at the NewYork-based Council on Foreign Rela- tions from 2007-10 and was chosen a Carnegie New Leader for promoting ethics in international affairs.

More recently, Gaurav spent some time in Nairobi to assist his colleagues on land rights challenges at Sanergy, a startup that is building sustainable sanitation in the urban slums of Nairobi. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Gaurav has been a student fellow at the Amer- ican Institute for Economic Research and has also worked as a summer associate in the sovereign risk team at the Boston headquarters of State Street Bank. Gaurav’s earlier work experiences at the New Delhi-based Center for Civil Society focused on measuring the cost of doing business for small and medium-scale enterprises in developing countries – projects that inspired him to learn about the pio- neering work of Hernando de Soto.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Parth J. Shah is founder president of the Centre for Civil Society, an independent, nonprofit think tank in New Delhi. CCS offers public policy solutions within the framework of the rule of law, subsidiarity, community engagement and competitive markets. It is currently focused on education reforms through the School Choice Campaign: Fund Students, Not Schools! and on livelihood deregulation through the Law, Liberty, & Livelihood Campaign and Jeevika Documentary Festival. Through I, Society, & Public Policy Seminars and Researching Reality Internship, college students understand public policy and become more active citizens.

Parth taught economics at the University of Michigan before returning to India to start CCS. He has published academic articles in the areas of development economics, welfare economics, business-cycle theory, free or laissez-faire banking, and currency-board systems. He has edited Morality of Markets, Friedman on India, Profiles in Courage: Dissent on Indian Socialism, Do Corporations have Social Responsibility?, and co-edited Law, Liberty, and Livelihood, The Terracotta Reader, and Agenda for Change. He writes regularly in newspapers and magazines. He is also the youngest Indian member of the Mont Pelerin Society, the premier international association of classical liberals.

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