2nd Annual International Property Rights Index (IPRI)

London –- People in countries that protect their physical and intellectual property enjoy a GDP per capita up to nine times greater than those without legal protection, the 2008 edition of the International Property Rights Index (IPRI), reveals today. Countries that protect property rights provide an essential foundation for peace, stability and prosperity, the Index shows. Its calculations cover 115 countries, representing 96% of the world’s GDP.

“Insecure property rights lie at the heart of many problems, from poverty in rural India to exploitation in Colombia. Even the recent troubles in Kenya are in part caused by insecure property rights – and the theft of such rights by the political elite, who have thereby stoked up resentment.” said Alec van Gelder of International Policy Network, the UK co-sponsor of the Index. This year’s IPRI provides further evidence that “the absence of clear, enforceable property rights increases the likelihood of conflict and perpetuates poverty,” he added.

Hernando De Soto, whose seminal work on property rights led to the conception of the IPRI, said this year’s results “provide further proof of the relationship between the robustness of a country’s property rights system and its economic development, revealing that much still needs to be done to extend property rights to more people, especially the poor.”

“A person who is unable to demonstrate formal ownership of land and other assets will find it more difficult to obtain capital. As a result, many possible entrepreneurial initiatives are stifled and economic progress is held back. Urgent reform is needed across poor countries to remove obstacles to effective, clear, non-discriminatory titling of land and to ensure that courts behave in an impartial manner and generally uphold the rule of law,” said van Gelder, Network Director of International Policy Network (IPN).

The 2008 IPRI measures 115 countries, covering 96% of the world’s GDP, assessing the protection of physical and intellectual property rights and its effect on economic well-being. It focuses on three areas, Legal and Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Forty-one organizations from six continents, including International Policy Network, are disseminating the report. The Index seeks to assist under-performing countries in their efforts to develop robust economies by emphasising sound property law.

For more information, including a country-by-country analysis, a list of global partners or the whole report , see www.InternationalPropertyRightsIndex.org

The 2008 IPRI partner organizations include:

Adriatic Institute for Public Policy (Croatia)
Alternate Solutions Institute (Pakistan)
Asociación de Consumidores Libres (Costa Rica)
Association for Liberal Thinking (Turkey)
Bishkek Business Club (Kyrgyz Republic)
Cathay Institute for Public Affairs (China)
Centre for Free Enterprise (Korea)
Centro de Investigaciones Económicas Nacionales (Guatemala)
CEPOS (Denmark)
CIVITA (Norway)
Decidere (Italy)
Centro de Investigaciones de Institutos y Mercados de Argentina (Argentina)
Eudoxa (Sweden)
European Center for Economic Growth (Belgium/Austria)
FREE (Poland)
Free Society Institute (Slovenia)
Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institut (Austria)
Fundación Atlas 1853 (Argentina)
Fundación IDEA (Mexico)
Fundación Libertad (Panama)
Fundación Libertad y Democracia (Bolivia)
IMANI Center for Policy and Education (Ghana)
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (Nigeria)
Instituto de Libre Empresa (Peru)
Instituto Ecuatoriano de Economía Política (Ecuador)
Instituto Liberdade (Brazil)
Instituto Libertad y Progreso (Colombia)
Instituto Para La Libertad y el Análisis de Políticas (Costa Rica)
Institut Constant de Rebecque (Switzerland)
Institute for Free Enterprise (Germany)
Institute for Public Affairs (Australia)
International Policy Network (United Kingdom)
Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (Israel)
Liberales Institut (Switzerland)
Libertad y Desarrollo (Chile)
Liberty Institute (India)
Property Rights Alliance (United States)
RSE - Centre for Social and Economic Research (Iceland)
The Center for Institutional Analysis and Development (Romania)
The Free Market Foundation of South Africa (South Africa)
The Lion Rock Institute (Hong Kong)