<strong>Special to The National Herald</strong>
<strong>Science Series</strong>
<strong>FEBRUARY 12-18, 2011</strong>

Institutional economist Elena Panaritis says more  than four billion  people around the world live  and  work without formal property ownership rights to their places  of residence. These assets are  worth approximately $9 trillion -  twice the money supply of the United States. Panaritis said  she  believes that it is vitally important to recognize the established lifestyles of these occupants and  to stop what she says  is the injustice of the system. Hurricane Katrina bore witness to an example of the dilemma faced  by residents when damages occurred to the houses they lived in. Many residents refused to leave  their homes because they lacked formal  ownership and  were  afraid of facing any new occupants preempting their homes by claiming ownership on  their return. Reports of  poverty-stricken areas in  the Balkans, Latin America and  in other parts of the world have  shown that returning homeowners  may   no   longer hold  enforceable claim  to property they occupied by  adverse possession.

Panaritis tells the following story to illustrate how  lives can be  changed through ownership of property. Rita, a seamstress in Lima, Peru  was earning the equivalent of $80  a month. She is now earning more than $1,000 a month based on her  ability to leverage the measurable value of her  property and  enhance her business enterprise. Panaritis presented those cases  in her her book, “Prosperity Unbound: Building Property  Rights with Trust, with a  foreword by  Dr. Francis Fukuyama, at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. At her presentation,  Fukuyama spoke of the development of property rights in  worldwide economies today. He is Dean  of Faculty and Bernard I. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy, at the Paul  H.  Nitze School  of Advanced International Studies Elena Panaritis working in a suburb of  Ouagadugu the capital city of  the African  country of Burkina Faso, where she  tried improve living conditions and property markets (SAIS.)

Panaritis’ narrative draws on extensive research and seeks a practical formula to break the global deadlocked cycle of frustration and helplessness associated with informal estate occupancy. Panaritis offers a fresh approach, with documented results on how to add property value. Susan Wachter, from The Wharton School Real Estate and Finance, University of Pennsylvania and former Assistant Secretary at the U. S. Housing and Urban Development Department, said of Panaritis’ book: “Indispensable reading for both public and private sector leaders and for anyone interested in the implications of informality for transferring real estate markets. It provides critical insights on why and how institutions and property rights matter for economic and social developments and a road map for the way forward.”

<strong>THOSE GREEK ROOTS</strong>

Panaritis grew  up  in  Greece in a family  that emphasized education. Her  father was  graduated from  the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in engineering. He served as an  officer  in  the Greek  army, and  at NATO, where he  worked in developing the telecommunications network. He  is now  a retired Lieutenant General residing in Greece. She lives and works  in  Washington, D.C.,  as well  as  in  Athens, where  was elected a Member of Parliament in Greece  in 2009 as a member of  the  Socialist PASOK party. Greeks  have  historically valued property ownership. Owning property means a certain control of one’s destiny in  life  and  the pride that goes with it. Her family’s own  property perhaps was a precursor to Panaritis’ dedication to promoting better conditions for those who  lack the security of  ownership, that  she said is a global issue. Her research has included property rights in the United States and from  Peru  to Paris  and  beyond. Her documented findings of problems established awareness of the issues  that have  been  created. She recommends viable solutions to undo precedents of ownership wrongs. Spearheading  reform, Panaritis explains that “Property is the unique asset of  what we  use  in  all  possible ways  within the current world economy. It is the common element that connects all  people, affecting us  in  the same   way. Whether in  the neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., Lima, Mumbai or  Paris,  the cycle  of poverty and  all that goes with it can be broken.”

In her book, she describes success  stories of her methodology,  such   as  that of  Deborah Thomas, a native of Washington, D.C., and  her  path from  dependency  on  the state, to middle class  proud owner. She  turned her  life  around to “real  choice and   property.” She  lived  in  a poor  neighborhood. When  the house in which  she lived burned down, she  evacuated with her children to her  mother’s apart- ment building. The  apartment building was rent controlled. Subsequently, it was condemned and a 30-day eviction notice was posted. The building’s occupants were  victimized by what author Panaritis called  “unreal” estate. The  property had  been  heavily regulated with no transparency of rights regarding use  and  responsibilities and  was  thereby “rendered illiquid,” Fortunately, Thomas felt sufficiently empowered  to look  for a legal  avenue to allow  tenants the choice  of purchase to become actual owners.  Her  pursuit and  perseverance  succeeded. The  building and its apartments became valuable   because it was  removed from public  housing and  its ten- ants became proud owners. This provided renovations and  new beginnings.

Panaritis also made a presentation at the International Monetary Fund  (IMF) in Washington, D.C. on the greater institutional aspects of  property rights and the impacts of informal property rights. She  employed examples from  Latin America  and  emerging  Europe, discussing reform programs that she  led  with her team in Peru  as well as reforms in Bulgaria. In further describing what she  coins  “reality check analysis”   the first step to reform  she  claims  that in order to understand the root of  the current problem, one  has to analyze  the distortions each  historic  break  has   created  in  a country’s property rights system. This  means looking at the history to establish who the players were, their incentives, and  finding out who are the winners and losers  of the reform of property rights. This includes a review of “unreal” or  informal property and  reforms that address the issues  they create. In her  study, a review of  property ownership and  occupancy behavior throughout history, Panaritis observed that  “the U.  S.  has   a rather weak  institutional infrastructure when it comes  to securing the tradability risk of real estate.” She  further observed “property rights in  the United States are not always as solid as many  of us think they are, which distorts incentive and  relative prices. Not all information is registered in county registries and so one  has  to do a long  search, and also purchase title insurance to accompany the final  transaction. The end result is that some of the characteristics of real  estate allow  speculative bubbles.”

Panaritis came  to the United States  when  she   was   in  her twenties and  became an American  citizen. She  has  degrees in economics and  finance from the Johns     Hopkins    University,  School   of  Advanced  International Studies in Bologna, Italy, and  Washington, D.C.,  INSEAD in France and The American College of Greece  in Athens. She is the author of a number of publications and  articles in her field of expertise and  lectures at The Wharton School and Johns Hopkins  University of Advanced International  Studies. She  was  a leading force  in property rights reform while   working at The World  Bank as an economist for more  than 10 years.  Among  Panaritis’ awards are Best Practice, and Innovation, from The World Bank.  As a social  entrepreneur, she heads The Panel  Group. She travels extensively in connection with her  work  and  is fluent in several languages including Spanish, Italian, and French. Her interests include photography, travel, and water sports. She enjoys gourmet cooking, port wine, and  she is a tango aficionada.

<strong>Canadian-born Helen Panarites is  a  freelance writer  based in Washington, D.C. and is a correspondent for The National Herald.  She worked as a broadcast writer for the Voice of America.</strong>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;