Homesteading Rock: A Defense of Free Access Under the General Mining Law of 1872

83 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2004

See all articles by Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

Bush School of Government & Public Service / School of Law; PERC - Property and Environment Research Center

Roger E. Meiners

University of Texas at Arlington

Andrew Dorchak

Case Western Reserve University Law Library

Date Written: April 2004

Abstract

Contrary to most contemporary accounts, the authors argue that the General Mining Law of 1872 represents an institution that effectively resolves incentive problems created by government ownership of mineral resources rather than a blatant giveaway of public resources. Instead of calling for radical change in U.S. mining laws, the authors hold up the free access principle of the General Mining Law of 1872 as a model for privatization of assets whose value is unknown.

JEL Classification: K11

Suggested Citation

Morriss, Andrew P. and Meiners, Roger E. and Dorchak, Andrew, Homesteading Rock: A Defense of Free Access Under the General Mining Law of 1872 (April 2004). Case Legal Studies Research Paper No. 04-2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=530124 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.530124

Andrew P. Morriss (Contact Author)

Bush School of Government & Public Service / School of Law ( email )

4220 TAMU / Room 2141
2129 Allen Building
College Station, TX 77843-4220
United States

PERC - Property and Environment Research Center

2048 Analysis Drive
Suite A
Bozeman, MT 59718
United States

Roger E. Meiners

University of Texas at Arlington ( email )

415 S West St Apt no 205
Arlington, TX 76013
United States

Andrew Dorchak

Case Western Reserve University Law Library ( email )

11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
176
Abstract Views
4,512
Rank
308,073
PlumX Metrics