Desenvolvimento Rural e Instituições: Normas Jurídicas e Propriedade da Terra em Portugal

Abstract

The paper presents the institution of landed property with reference to the Portuguese case. Institutions correspond to a central component of rural development since they shape the scope of the action of economic agents regarding the appropriation and use of land. The approach is developed within economics in its foundational and institutionalist approaches, including the articulation between Law and Economics. The critical reference to the main sources of the Portuguese legal norms in relation with property rights involved in land considers the increasing recognition of agriculture in the sustainable management of territory. Particular attention is devoted to the subject of land abandonment which consideration is, among other issues, fundamental within the context of rural development processes.