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contributed to its substance. But as drafted andsynthesised by the rapporteur, the content mightnot always represent all the viewpoints and priorities.Positions taken should thus not be directlyattributed to all contributors — some positions,in fact, remain controversial among them. Thereare two general points in relation to which thecontributors voiced conflicting views to the rapporteur:the first concerns the role of the state;the second, the role of the market. While somesee the state as an indispensable part of the solutionto the problem of faltering property rightsfor the poor, others emphasise that it is ratherpart of the problem or even the root cause. And,while some see the market as an opportunity forthe poor to work themselves out of poverty, othersstress the fact that market forces marginalize thepoor and drive them into misery.Acloser look reveals that these diagnosticview points are often context-dependent. Torealise property rights for the poor, both the stateas enabler and lender of last resort in regulationand rule implementation, as well as the marketas prime producer of resources, need close attention.Both state and market have indeed beenneglecting or harming the poor, but in the fightagainst poverty there is no alternative to thedynamic relation between a reformed and morelegitimate state and a functional market that includesthe poor in the value chains. This chaptertherefore stresses the dynamic interdependenceof state and market and the equal importanceof their reform in the efforts to empower thepoor through property rights. There is consensusamong the members of the working group whichprepared this chapter that the state as suchshould not be the default owner of land propertyand natural resources. The state is, however, indispensableas regulator, enabler, and auctioneerof equitable property relations. Increasing thelegitimacy of the state thus belongs at the centreof the national and multilateral agenda of propertyrights protection.Realisation of property rights is about creating apositive feedback loop between the functionalityof property governance by the state on the oneside, and the meaning this systemic functionalityhas for the people in their everyday life and customs.Importantly, neither of these two elementsis to be understood as rigid and unchangeable. 34Culture and customs are subject to constantchange due to urbanisation, population growth,migration, social differentiation, technologicaldevelopment, etc., and so are the state’s institutionalrules and formal procedures. If propertyrights are to bring substantial benefits to the globalpoor, the formalised property systems of poorcountries and the social practices have to evolvetogether and in response to each other.75