Property rights (economics)

Property rights are the rights that all people have to own things and to control what happens to them. Everyone has the right to own things, be they a house, a car, a phone, or even a pet. Property rights protect people's ownership of these things by giving them the right to decide who they share them with and how they use them. For example, if you own a house, you have the right to decide who can come into your house, who can live there, and who can use it. Property rights also protect people's right to keep the money and valuables they own, and to decide what to do with them. Property rights are part of economics because they help people create wealth and decide when, where, and how to spend it.