2023
| International Property Rights Index

About

About the

Property Rights Alliance

The International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is the flagship publication of Property Rights Alliance. The IPRI scores the underlining institutions of a strong property rights regime: the legal and political environment, physical property rights, and intellectual property rights. It is the world’s only index entirely dedicated to the measurement of intellectual and physical property rights. Covering 125 countries, the 2023 IPRI reports on the property rights systems affecting 98 percent of world Gross Domestic Product and 94 percent of world population.

A tool for policymakers, business communities, and civic activists, the IPRI highlights the essential role property rights play in creating a prosperous economy and just society. In addition, the 2023 Index examines the robust relationship between property rights and other economic and social indicators of well-being including – gender equality, energy, innovation, competition, social mobility, research and development, human development, venture capital, and measures of internet connectedness.

This year 131 international organizations, from 73 countries, partnered with the PRA in Washington, D.C., and its Hernando De Soto Fellow Prof. Sary Levy-Carciente to produce the 17th edition of the IPRI.

A Letter From

Hernando de Soto

The past four years have seen an economic downturn across the globe. Because we are at risk of recession in many countries, better to say something like “to help move toward a stable recovery”, a reaffirmation of physical and intellectual property rights is key. That assertion of property rights is also now taking place. Thanks to Dr. Sary Levy-Carciente, Hernando de Soto, 2023 PRA Fellow, and Lorenzo Montanari, Executive Director of the Property Rights Alliance, on the publication of the 2023 International Property Rights Index. This report highlights why property rights are an essential foundation to a strong economy.

The past four years have seen the IPRI score decline, but now, IPRI shows a slight reversal of trends. The average global IPRI score in this year’s Index is 5.21, an increase of only .37% since last year. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is the only component to increase, climbing by 2% since last year. The other two measured components, Legal and Political Environment (LP) and Physical Property Rights (PPR), have only continued to drop. The LP is the weakest component, falling by 0.4% to a score of 5.06, while the PPR continues to fall, dropping by 0.76% to a score of 5.23.

This seventeenth edition of the IPRI supports the fact that property rights are correlated heavily with a successful economy and a higher quality of life. This study of 125 countries, accounting for 93.4% of the world’s population and 97.5% of global GDP, serves as a powerful motivator for policymakers, think tanks, and civil society to act and restore property rights amid unprecedented crises.

The slight rebound of the total IPRI score, despite the previous years of decrease, shows that recovery is just beginning from the economic turbulence of the past four years. To expedite the process, reaffirming intellectual property rights will allow citizens to capitalize on this economic recovery. Innovation and competition are only possible due to proper patent protections are enshrined into law. Without guarantees, the interconnected corroboration which R&D benefits from will only falter. All sectors of the economy rely on their R&D programs, which are perpetuated by the guarantee that successful creations will see a return on investment.

The turnaround of the four-year trend is a positive sign, but it should not fool anyone. The Legal and Political Environment score decreasing the most is reason to worry. Without the guarantee of protection, property rights will be infringed upon. Property rights foster economic stability by enabling citizens to generate capital, obtain loans for projects or investments, and register property to reap the benefits of a modern economy.

The IPRI includes an analysis of IPRI-Gender Equality (GE) to highlight the low access to property rights protections among women. Compared to last year, there is a reduction of 12.6% in the global average for equal gender access to property rights. A weak property rights ecosystem hinders a nation’s innovation, exacerbates political disenfranchisement, and diminishes a nation’s quality of life.

Property rights are crucial in promoting the rule of law, reducing government corruption, increasing political stability, and ensuring the independence of the judiciary. It is particularly important to defend property rights, as once this principle fails, a nation’s rule of law will decline and so will the prosperity a country enjoys.

The IPRI provides valuable insights into a wide range of components such as production, investment, innovation capacity, connectivity, the illicit environment, and economic freedom. Within this index, there is a correlation between the IPRI and other models which offer more detail into how the final scores were determined and illustrate why property rights are deeply interconnected with all aspects of society. By protecting property rights, we can foster a healthy rule of law and ensure a country’s well-being.

I am honored and delighted to introduce the 2023 International Property Rights Index. It is a privilege to work alongside the Property Rights Alliance, an organization that promotes growth and preserving democratic values through safeguarding property rights. Their commitment to these principles is unwavering and is represented within this Index.

Sincerely,

Hernando de Soto

President

Executive Director

Lorenzo Montanari

Lorenzo Montanari is Executive Director of the Property Rights Alliance (PRA), an advocacy group/think tank based in Washington, DC USA, affiliated to Tholos Foundation, committed to the protection of physical, legal, and intellectual property rights around the world. At Property Rights Alliance, Lorenzo is in charge of publishing and editing the International Property Rights Index, an international comparative study focused on intellectual and physical property rights. Previously, he worked for a public affairs firm and at the international department of the GSPM/George Washington University in Washington, DC, and as a political analyst and electoral observer in Latin America for the European Union. Lorenzo holds a BA in Political Science and in International Relations from the University of Bologna and an MA in Political Management from George Washington University. He collaborates with Forbes.

Policy Analyst

Philip Thompson

Philip Thompson is a Policy Analyst at PRA specializing in international intellectual property legislation and trade policy, in addition, Philip also supports the International Property Rights Index an annual publication of PRA. Before joining PRA Philip coordinated youth community development programs in the U.S. and the Caribbean for five years, he has also interned at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s foreign affairs task force and at the Cato Institute’s trade policy center. Philip holds a BA in International Conflict and Resolution and an MA in International Commerce and Policy, both from George Mason University.

HDS Fellow

Dr. Sary Levy-Carciente

Sary Levy-Carciente is a Venezuelan economist with expertise in applied macroeconomics. She holds a Doctorate in Development Studies, a Master in International Economics and a Specialization in Administrative Sciences. President of the National Academy of Economic Sciences in Venezuela and Full professor at the Central University of Venezuela, where she was Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Principal of its Research Institute. She won the prestigious Fullbright Research Fellowship at the Center for Polymer Studies at Boston University and was a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts. She is responsible for the calculation and analysis of the International Property Rights Index (PRA, Washington, DC) since 2015. She is the coordinator of Index of Bureaucracy in Latin America (Atlas Network, Arlington, VA) and manager of the Public Spending Observatory of CEDICE-Libertad (Venezuela). She has numerous publications, invited as a speaker at academic and professional conferences and is frequently consulted by the media on economic issues.