Arithmetic of Property Rights: A Leontief-type Model of Ownership Structures

Abstract

A simple algebraic model of a property structure leading to the Leontief-type input-output scheme is developed and used to eliminate indirect ownership relations and evaluate the final distribution of national property among individual owners. Concepts of "family capitalism" and "capitalism of agents" type of corporate governance are defined and compared. Implications of different designs of corporate governance for general equilibrium theory, profit distribution and decision making are discussed.Corporate governance; Leontief input-output model; ownership structure; primary owners; principal-agent problem; secondary owners