Property rights to the world’s (linear) ocean fisheries in customary international law

Barrett, Scott (2024) Property rights to the world’s (linear) ocean fisheries in customary international law. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 11 (3). 689 - 718. ISSN 2333-5955

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Abstract

I model the ocean as an array of lines set within a two-dimensional frame and show how the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) emerged as an equilibrium in customary international law. I find that custom codifies the efficient Nash equilibrium of enclosure for nearshore fisheries. For highly migratory and offshore fisheries, enclosure is inefficient, and customary law supports a more efficient " free sea” regime. The model also identifies the trigger for changes in property rights and the reason choice of a particular limit, like the current 200-mile zone, is arbitrary. In an asymmetric, regional sea, I find that the scope of the EEZ is determined by the relative power of coastal and distant water states, and need not be efficient. Finally, I find that proposals to nationalize the seas or ban fishing on the high seas are neither efficient nor supportable as equilibria in customary law.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
Divisions:	Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	K Law > KZ Law of Nations H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
JEL classification:	F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy > F50 - General K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K33 - International Law Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q22 - Fishery; Aquaculture
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2024 10:09
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 20:45
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125568

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