Property Rights, Collective Action, and Poverty: The Role of Institutions for Poverty Reduction

This paper presents a conceptual framework on how institutions of property rightsand collective action can contribute to poverty reduction, including through externalinterventions and action by poor people themselves. The first part of the paperexamines the initial conditions of poverty, highlighting the role of assets, risks andvulnerability, legal structures and power relations. The latter part investigates thedecision-making dynamics of actors—both poor and non-poor—and how they canuse the tangible and intangible resources they have to shape their livelihoods andthe institutions that govern their lives. The paper concludes with a discussion ofhow attention to property rights and collective action can improve theunderstanding of outcomes in terms of changes in wellbeing.