‘Unclear’ initial delineation of property boundaries and the third Coase Theorem

This interdisciplinary study, which references previous research on the evolution of land law and real world examples of land market operating with unclear property boundaries, demonstrates that Ronald Coase’s argument that delimitation of property rights is a prelude to market transaction applies to urban development, in which certitude in initial property boundaries in geodetic terms is not overriding. It explains why even a powerful landlord can be unsure of and do not even want to know the boundaries of the land of his/her tenants and why this mapping limitation in itself does not inhibit market transactions. When land is treated as an input for a chattel that is no longer fixed to land, area measurement is more important than boundary-fixing. When land becomes valued for its location and fixtures (i.e., as real estate), precise boundary delineations and disputes over the precision of cadastral surveys emerge. Boundary disputes are a particularly painful form of litigation. Feelings run high and disproportionate amounts of money are spent. Claims to small and valueless pieces of land are pressed with the zeal of Fortinbras’ army (Lord Hoffman in Wibberley v. Insley [1999] HL15).preprin

Ab initio calculations on SF₂ and its low-lying cationic states : anharmonic Franck-Condon simulation of the uv photoelectron spectrum of SF₂

Version of RecordPublishe

Franck-Condon simulation of the single-vibronic-level emission spectra of HPCI/DPCI and the chemiluminescence spectrum of HPCI, including anharmonicity

2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Ab initio calculations on SCl₂ and low-lying cationic states of SCl₂⁺ : Franck-Condon simulation of the UV photoelectron spectrum of SCl₂

Author name used in this publication: F. T. Chau2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

A new method of calculation of Franck-Condon factors which includes allowance for anharmonicity and the Duschinsky effect : simulation of the He I photoelectron spectrum of ClO₂

2000-2001 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

An ab initio study on the ground and low-lying doublet electronic states of SbO₂

2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

The Rise and Fall of the Sand Monopoly Colonial Hong Kong

A state monopoly over a scarce natural resource under open access can theoretically reduce the costs of supply by constraining rent dissipation and innovations. A monopoly over the collection and trading of sand was formed in Hong Kong by legislation in 1935 in the wake of disputes between sandmen and villagers and imminent shortages of sand. Arguably, a monopoly at this stage of Hong Kong's development was a better alternative to merely defining rights over sand extraction in terms of the transaction costs of enforcement. During the 1950s and 1960s, when Hong Kong's economy and construction industry began to boom, the monopoly's existence was further justified due to the politics of China being the sole source of Hong Kong's sand supply. However, this case study of the sand monopoly and its post-war operation as a bilateral monopoly shows that it did not protect coastal villagers, as violations of the sand law were not infrequent. The local sand supply was huge, and the monopoly's abolition in 1981 was followed by a long period of falling, rather than rising, real wholesale prices of the resource. Nor was there any sign of scale economies, as claimed by the government. The policy implications of this are discussed

Determination of Volatile Components of Ping-wei Powder(II) - Analysis of the Volatile Oil in Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis with GC/MS

2001-2002 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

A study of the BrO and BrO₂ radicals with vacuum ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy

Author name used in this publication: J. M. DykeAuthor name used in this publication: E. P. F. LeeAuthor name used in this publication: D. K. W. MokAuthor name used in this publication: F. T. ChauVersion of RecordPublishe