In-Kind Remedies versus Monetary Remedies

Abstract

All legal systems must design remedies for rights violations, including property rights. In this context, one of the most common choices is between monetary remedies and in-kind remedies. In reality, monetary compensation is the most common form of redress for rights violations. This chapter questions the conventional wisdom that people are ordinarily indifferent between monetary and nonmonetary remedies, focusing on remedies relating to property. There is experimental evidence that people prefer in-kind remedies to monetary ones, even when the remedy concerns nonunique and easily replaceable assets. The chapter applies the psychological insights to remedies for wrongful interference with property, and to land use planning and expropriation of property.