An Economic Analysis of 'Riding to Hounds': Pierson V. Post Revisited

Posted: 7 Sep 2000

See all articles by Dhammika Dharmapala

Dhammika Dharmapala

UC Berkeley School of Law; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Rohan Pitchford

University of Sydney Business School

Date Written: Undated

Abstract

Pierson v. Post, an 1805 New York case, concerns the ownership of a dead fox; Post had organized a fox hunt and pursuing a fox, when Pierson appeared and killed the animal. The rule established by the court in this case (awarding ownership to Pierson) has proven to be highly influential. This paper undertakes an economic analysis of the issues raised by the case. The incentives for the killing of foxes created by the court's rule and the alternative rule, giving property rights to Post, advocated in a vigorous dissent by Justice Livingston are analyzed. The consequences for social welfare are derived under various circumstances; the formal approach leads to a number of new insights. Finally, the implications of this analysis for contemporary issues in property law are explored through applications to the areas of oil and gas, the broadcast spectrum, and "cybersquatting" (involving the ownership of internet domain names).

Suggested Citation

Dharmapala, Dhammika and Pitchford, Rohan, An Economic Analysis of 'Riding to Hounds': Pierson V. Post Revisited (Undated). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=230949

Dhammika Dharmapala

UC Berkeley School of Law ( email )

302 JSP
2240 Piedmont Ave
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Rohan Pitchford (Contact Author)

University of Sydney Business School ( email )

Cnr. of Codrington and Rose Streets
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

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