“产权明晰”的迷思:科斯的权利观

The Myth of "Delineating Property Rights Perfectly and Clearly";The Ideology of Coase’s Rights

无论是在实践领域还是在理论界,我们都一定程度上存在着＂产权明晰＂的迷思：相信＂只有界定清楚的产权才能有效率＂。这一＂迷思＂被认为肇始于科斯。问题在于,这并不是科斯的看法;在某种意义上,甚至是科斯所明确反对的。思想深邃、遣词造句极为严谨的科斯甚至并不倾向于使用＂产权＂特别是＂所有权＂之类的概念,更别说＂产权明晰＂这样异常模糊的概念了。梳理清楚科斯所用一些关键概念的差异,辨别其贴近于现实的不同层次,便不难得出被科斯用作分析工具的权利分析框架,进而有助于理解他的权利观。

There is a certain superstition about "delineating property rights perfectly and clearly ’,and some people,not only in practice but also in theoretical field,believe that "the world can be efficient only when property rights are delineated clearly".That idea has been thought as a symbol of economics of property rights with Ronald H.Coase as its founder.However,it is not Coase’ s standpoint at all,and it is even,in some sense,clearly opposed to by Coase.Profound in thinking and prudent in wording,Coase would rather not use such terms as"property rights’,or "ownership ’,not to mention the blurred concept of "delineating property rights perfectly and clearly".For the purpose of understanding Coase,we must clarify different levels of key words Coase uses on rights,and the relationship of different parts of his important theses.With this article,the author hopes to bring back Coase’ s opinions on rights as an analysis framework.