Governments determine who can own property and what owners can do with it.

1. This reduces transactions costs when buying and selling property. Buyers and sellers don’t have to spend as much time spelling out rights.2. This also makes it easier to enforce property rights.

Governments at all levels:

Define property rights.Create contracts to recognize and establish property rights.Set up legal systems to clarify, refine and enforce property rights.

This is much better than being to “own only what you can protect.” That was the “Old West” approach to property rights.