Mongolian Concepts of Ownership and Feelings Toward Property Rights

The purpose of this project is to gain information about the Mongolians’ concepts of ownership and their feelings toward privatization and property rights in order document public feelings during a slice of time out of Mongolia’s rapid cultural change due to Mongolia’s transition to a market economy. I am interested in examining the influence of Mongolian culture on peoples’ ideas of ownership, and the effects of privatization on Mongolians’ lifestyles. This project combines my academic studies of philosophy and economics. Philosophy is concerned with ethics, or how one ought to live, while economics concerns the choices people make based on their values.

I plan to administer a 15-20-question survey that will test the subject’s sense of ownership of his resources, the effects of privatization on his way of life, and how Mongolian culture has influenced his views of privatization. I will survey families and people of different ages, locations, and lifestyles. I will analyze the data from this survey and combine the results with research about how the Mongolian government defines ownership and protects property rights. I will also examine why privatization is necessary for a market economy. Unlike previous research addressing personal property in Mongolia, I will focus on how Mongolia’s recent economic transition has affected citizens’ views and lifestyle concerning ownership and property. I expect to identify trends between different demographics in Mongolians’ views and concepts of ownership, property rights, and privatization.