The Politics of Property Rights at the National Level Signals and Trends

Abstract

The private property rights movement was one of the most consequential land use and environmental movements of the 1990s. It first emerged on the national sphere in the latter years of the Reagan administration. Advocates shifted their focus to the state level during the Bush and Clinton presidencies. In 2000 they provided strong support for George W. Bush's candidacy, with high expectations from his administration. This commentary examines the national-level property rights activity of the Bush administration in 2001 and 2002 and speculates on the prominence and success of this policy sphere in this administration's future.