Anderson, Terry L. and J. Bishop Grewell. “Property Rights Solutions for the Global Commons: Bottom-Up or Top-Down?” Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum 10 (1999): 73-101. (reviewed by Julie Krogh)
Summary:
This article does not focus primarily on the Trail Smelter issue on the Columbia River, but it discusses the overriding concepts of property rights in the international realm. The structure consists of an introduction, four subject headings, and a conclusion with policy suggestions. The first subject heading is “Two Views of the Commons: Pigou vs.Coase.” This section explains the differences between the approaches of Pigou and Coase toward solving environmental. Pigou's approach, the dominant one, is “to use government's power to tax and regulate” (74). Coase, alternatively, focuses on “competing uses rather than social costs” (75).
The second subject heading is “Creation of Property Rights: From the Bottom-Up or the Top-Down.” In the introduction, the authors say “'bottom-up' means customary, common law property rights that are formed over time when conflicts over resource use arise” and “'top-down' means government mandated property rights” (74). Correspondingly, the second section has to do with how economics affects the creation of property rights on an individual to governmental level. It also explains the “tragedy of the commons” theory and why common areas are more difficult to share than might be imagined.
The third subject heading is “Property Rights Solutions to Resolve Global Conflicts.” The main argument of this section is that, “when conflicting resource uses involve individuals or groups on opposite sides of political borders or across non-adjoining borders, there is less possibility for cultural homogeneity, increased communication difficulties, and less-developed adjudication procedures” (84). The Trail smelter is used as an example, in this section, of how international agreements can aid the process of establishing property rights. The authors use this case as an example to address two questions: “1) can effective property rights be created under international law, and 2) can and should such property rights be created top-down or bottom-up?”(86). The authors argue that international law can create effective property rights but that success is contingent on many factors such as cultural homogeneity. The Trail smelter example supports the creation of property rights from the bottom-up but the rest of the section cites cases in which property rights were effectively created from the top down.
The last main section subject heading is, “Problems with the Top-Down Property Rights Approaches to the Global Commons.” The authors make the assertion that some top-down approaches are inevitable and then proceed to categorize the types of problems that they foresee with this approach. Those problems fall under the categories of, “rent seeking at the international level,” and “sovereignty.” The conclusion contains suggestions for future policy. There are suggestions specifically for the United States, but the main focus of the conclusion is on four overall guidelines for foreign policy in relation to property rights.
Critique
The strength of this article is in its relevancy and focus on solutions. It addresses the problem on transboundary pollution and the difficulties associated with creating effective policy to handle the struggles of property rights, but it takes the important step of moving beyond the problem to search for a solution. It is relevant because the Columbia River is geographically located in two different geopolitical states so the ways in which Canadian companies or individuals impact the river directly affects the environment and water quality downstream in the United States.
The article is very well organized with clear direction and arguments. The language is appropriate to the subject matter and creates a very readable article. The availability of this article is also fairly high as it is a work in print and easily found online. The authors are obviously very familiar and comfortable with their subject and convey a competent grasp of the situation which, in turn, gives the reader a true sense of understanding after reading the article. Overall, it is a valuable source for anyone interested in international environmental policy.
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
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