Background
CHEUNG, Steven Ng Sheong was born in 1935 in Hong Kong.
(For over 50 years economists have argued that where priva...)
For over 50 years economists have argued that where private costs or benefits differ from social costs or benefits - in noise, smells, congestion, pollution of the environment - there is a 'clear case' for government intervention to correct the divergence. This argument has been used to justify almost endless intervention. However, the original analysts of social costs/benefits were led into error by failing to test their propositions against the evidence of real life. Painstaking empirical studies clearly demonstrate these errors. A divergence between private and social cost is no decisive justification for government action to correct it. The costs of intervention often outweigh the social benefits. Moreover, the alleged 'externalities' are merely uncontracted effects. Under private property rights, the use of contracts to transact what have been regarded as 'external' effects is far more common than has been commonly recognised.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0255361122/?tag=2022091-20
CHEUNG, Steven Ng Sheong was born in 1935 in Hong Kong.
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America, 1961, 1962, 1967.
Assistant Professor, California State College, Long Beach, 1965-1967. Assistant Professor, University Chicago, 1968-1969. Association Professor, Professor, University Washington, 1969-1972,
1972-1984.
Professor of Economics, University Hong Kong, Hong Kong, since 1982.
Editor, Asian Economics J.
(For over 50 years economists have argued that where priva...)
(Book)
A conviction about the importance of property rights in affecting economic behaviour has led to an almost exclusive focus on various aspects of transaction costs. Research interests comprise economic explanation of pricing and contractual arrangements, including sharecropping, bee-keeping rentals, ticket pricing, rent and price controls, patent and trade-secret licensing, and the pricing and contractual structures of various industries. Recent investigations are into the relation between economic systems and transaction costs/property rights structures.