State Property Regime

In a state property regime, ownership and control over the use of the property rests in the hand of the state. The resource itself can either be a public good or anything else. For example, national (or state) parks, wildlife sanctuaries and national highways are state properties which are public in character. The state can also own railways, airlines, hotels, etc. which are more like private goods. Because of their large size or indivisibility, and the advantages of economies of scale, the state emerges as the owner of such resources.

The government or state may either directly manage the use of state-owned natural resources through government agencies or leave them to groups or individuals who are thus given usufruct rights over such resources for a specified period of time. Tree growing associations in West Bengal (and elsewhere in India) consisting of groups of landless or marginal farmers is such an example.