Rules in Un-Ruled Lands: The Origins of Property Rights inPalestinian Refugee Camp Sectors across Lebanon and Jordan Open Access

Abstract

Abstract Rules in Un-Ruled Lands: The Origins of Property Rights in Palestinian Refugee Camp Sectors across Lebanon and Jordan By Nadya Hajj Parks Scholars in such disparate fields as philosophy, economics, and political science argue that a system of well-defined property rights is a key factor in economic development and subsequently political stability and security. Despite significant theoretical and empirical support for the positive effects of property rights on economic growth and stability, much less is known about the origins of property right institutions, especially among marginalized groups like Palestinian refugees. On the basis of 152 interviews I test the efficiency, distributional, and socio-historical explanations for institutional formation. Components of the efficiency and distributional approaches were evident in camp sectors in Lebanon. An amalgam of all three approaches was evident in camp sectors in Jordan. Evidence suggests that existing institutional explanations are, alone, inadequate at explaining institutional formation. I discovered that hegemonic powers like Fateh or the Jordanian state can craft secure property rights despite strong distributional motives, in the presence of latent political contestation, long time horizons, and resource scarcity. In addition, intervening variables like common pool resources influence the strategic decision of actors to exploit property rights. Finally, results hold positive policy implications for marginalized groups like Palestinian refugees. Namely, marginalized groups can craft strong property rights even in the absence of a state authority.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents List of Tables Abbreviations Chapter 1: Laying the Ground Work Chapter 2: The Institutional Origins of Property Rights Chapter 3: The Genesis of Property Rights in Palestinian Refugee Camp Sectors Chapter 4: Understanding Variation in Property Right Strength Chapter 5: Conclusion Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Works Cited

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Political Science
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Political Science, General
Keyword	Palestinian Refugees Institutions Property Rights Middle East
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Doner, Richard, Emory University
Committee Members	Remington, Thomas F, Emory University Yandle, Tracy, Emory University Wickham, Carrie, Emory University

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