1) Land and buildings; the UK legal term for these is real property. Property forms an important part of a country's capital stock. Property prices are the values of land and buildings, which are liable to large fluctuations. The amount of land normally cannot be changed at all, except where land can be reclaimed from the sea, as in the Netherlands. Buildings can be constructed or demolished, but planning and building large projects takes time, and once in place buildings wear out very slowly. If there is a surplus or a shortage of buildings, this can take a long time to set right, and in the mean time their prices may be abnormally low or high. Property investment is thus very risky.

2) Ownership of assets by private individuals or organizations. These assets may include property in sense 1, but may also include securities and intellectual property such as patents. Property incomes are incomes derived from such assets. Expressions such as ‘a man of property’ or ‘property-owning democracy’ refer to property in both senses.

See also:

intellectual property, and private property

• import restriction
• imports
• import substitution
• import surcharge
• import tariff
• imputation system
• imputed charge for consumption of non-trading capital
• imputed income
• IMRO
• incentive-compatibility
• incentives
• incidence of taxation
• income
• income approach to GDP
• income change, compensating
• income distribution
• income effect
• income elasticity of demand
• income expansion path
• income from employment
• income from self-employment
• income inequality
• income method
• income per capita
• income redistribution