The informational dimension of real estate development: A case of a “positive non-interventionist” application of the Coase Theorem

• Published in: Land use policy Vol. 41; pp. 225 - 232
• Main Authors: Lai, Lawrence W.C., Chau, K.W., Lee, Chester K.K., Lorne, Frank T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Building naming; China (People's Republic); Coase Theorem; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Contracts; Copyright; Decision-making; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hong Kong, China; Land; Land registration; Law; Markets; Property; Real estate business; Real estate development; Regulation; Sign structure; Coase Theorem; Real estate development; Land registration; Building naming; Sign structure; Environmental policy; Sign; Naming; Land use
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.05.009

•Novel conceptualization of real estate development as a sign structure.•Real world application of the Fourth Coase Theorem to government information services.•Planning by contract combines state and market planning.
Informed by Coase's (1988) idea that state rules can enlarge a market, Rosa's (2006) idea of information as a private good usable as memes, and Yu's (1981) economics of patent pooling, Schuster's (2005) proposition that government can collect and distribute information as an active tool to influence actors, this paper advances the viewpoint that real estate development forms sign structures for adding information that enhances the values of a site under strategically selected property names. The ideal case of Hong Kong's planning and development by contract is used and compared to the practice in Mainland China to demonstrate these ideas with special reference to its open land registration and information systems, which sell important information memes and the names of properties that can be protected by trademark law.