Property Rights and the Evolution of a Frontier
研究了边疆土地从低价值、产权模糊到高价值、产权稳定的演变过程，分析了产权对定居者投资和维权行为的影响，并用模型模拟了最优路径和频繁土地交易现象。
As a frontier closes land goes from a state where land values are low and property rights undefined, to a state where values have risen and tenure has become secure. Along this evolution the incentives for settlers to invest in productive activities and to expend resources to stake and enforce their claims will change. This dynamic nature of frontier settlement is modeled with special attention to the role of property rights. A simulation of the optimal paths of the control and state variables which emerge from the model is used to analyze the phenomenon of frequent land sales by settlers.