Property Rights in Return and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (Idps) - A Quantitative and Comparative Case Study. (Paperback)

This dissertation argues that solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property rights to IDPs is not only important for creating incentives for them to return home, but also for generating the means to re-establish their lives elsewhere, i.e., to resettle and reintegrate. The methodology followed in this dissertation is both quantitative and qualitative. In the quantitative part, I test the existing hypotheses on IDP return in the literature with a dataset, which I compiled, that comprises all the countries with conflict-induced, internally displaced people. The results of the quantitative analysis show that property rights are an important determinant of IDP return and resettlement. In the qualitative part, a more detailed analysis of individual cases of Bosnia and Cyprus elucidate and confirm the theory proven by quantitative analysis with qualitative data, and uncover the endogenous variables affecting the settlement of the problem of internal displacement that are overlooked by aggregate data.