The Economic Impact of Property Rights

Coase Theorem

This past semester in my Economics class, I learned the impact of property rights. In specific, the professor went into depth about the Coase Theorem and how as long as property rights are well established and there is a low cost of fees to do business, each firm can interact with each other to gain a benefit that the other may need.

For example, say you have a chemical plant and a boat ride company located near a river. If there are no established property rights, then the chemical plant is free to pollute the water and make the boat ride company lose business. However, if a regulatory agency states that the boating agency has property rights over the river than the chemical plant does not have the right to pollute the river. Since property rights are now established, there can be an interaction between the two companies. The chemical plant can discuss with the boat ride company if he can compensate the boat company by producing his chemicals and continuing his business. The boat company can receive a money amount from the chemical company that will make him content. This form of compensation allows the two companies to create a better environment by utilizing market forces instead of outside enforcement.

In China, many foreign companies’ products’ are copied and sold in fake markets. Property rights may not be well defined in outside markets however is the same true on the internet? Recently, Burberry has been awarded $100 million dollars by a Manhattan federal court, on a counterfeiting lawsuit against Chinese websites that were selling fake Burberry products. This lawsuit is also contingent on third party sites that direct visitors to places that sell fake products, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and Google. With this being said, I believe Burberry has utilized regulatory agencies to establish well defined property rights on their products over the internet. However, will this finally benefit both sides? Clearly not, because the Chinese manufacturers will lose money and there will be jobs lost in China, yet Burberry has one less fake producer to worry about and they can protect themselves from other infringing companies.

Article On Burberry Lawsuit 

Are International Students Being Taken Advantage Of?

In China, I saw how important education is to families. Since most Chinese families have only one child, there are high expectations to succeed. Also, there is a well known cultural note where the Chinese often save money for their child. I am not familiar with the Korean culture, but from my Korean friends, I see that there is a strong emphasis on education. In addition, I have witnessed my personal friend from Europe and the difficulties he has had because he is not an America citizen.

Understanding the Chinese culture, Korean Culture, and talking with my friends, I have begun to see a new side to education. The business side.

As I go to class, I walk by a lot of students who speak Chinese. I barely understand them, but then two feet away, I hear a group of Korean students speaking with each other in their native language. New York University is well known for the diverse international presence in its student body, but do these students have the same opportunities as American students?

Apparently, most international students have to pay full price for their tuition. At New York University, that is a steep price. If an international student wants to become a doctor, he has a slim chance to attend medical school, since medical schools accept few international students. When students apply for internships or jobs in the work force, many have to look for an employer who is able to sponsor them for a visa. With no visa, they cannot work in America, thus they will have to return to their home country. Also, finding an internship is even harder, especially in New York City, since they are competing with students who are familiar with American culture and with the language and most NYC internships are unpaid. Moreover, most international students are not aware of the American culture for various reasons. They hold true to their personal culture, but in America, things do not work exactly the way things work in China, Korea, amongst other countries.

The chips are stacked against these students from the beginning. When most of our parents have come from abroad and fulfilled the American dream, these students arrive here with the same intention, but I believe they are taken advantage of. The schools understand that it will be tough for the students to find a job in any field, and if the students do not have a pro-career attitude and start to find work experience early, it will be a long uphill climb. With this being said, high ranked and middle-tiered colleges are able to get full-tuition from a student who, will in the end, not be able to properly utilize the degree that they earned.

All in all, this is the journey of life. People will go through these things where they will feel being taking advantage of. If nobody made any mistakes, life will not be enjoyable. All I am saying is that this is a growing trend and I hope that employers and universities help these students, instead of just taking their money.