Economics Commons^™

Reverse Auctions And Universal Telecommunications Service: Lessons From Global Experience, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

The United States now spends around $7 billion on universal service programs—subsidies intended to ensure that the entire country has access to telecommunications services. Most of this money supports telecommunications service in “high cost” (primarily rural) areas, and the High Cost fund is growing quickly. In response to this growth, policymakers are considering using reverse auctions, or bids for the minimum subsidy, as a way to reduce expenditures. While the U.S. has not yet distributed funds for universal service programs using reverse auctions, the method has been used widely. First, reverse auctions are akin to standard government procurement procedures, which …

The Overcharge As A Measure For Antitrust Damages, Martijn Han, Maarten Pieter Schinkel, Jan Tuinstra

Martijn A. Han

Victims of antitrust violations can recover damages in court. Yet, the quantification of antitrust damages and to whom they accrue is often complex. An illegal price increase somewhere in the chain of production percolates through to the other layers in a ripple of partial pass-ons. The resulting reductions in sales and input demands lead to additional harm to both downstream (in)direct purchasers and upstream suppliers. Nevertheless, U.S. civil antitrust litigation is almost exclusively concerned with direct purchaser claims for (treble) damages calculated on the basis of the overcharge. Similar best practice rules are emerging in Europe. In this paper, we …

La Organización Industrial Del Transporte Aéreo En Chile, Claudio A. Agostini

Claudio A. Agostini

Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same time, the two largest domestic airlines merged and several smaller entrants exited without being able to make significant inroads. As a result, the industry is highly concentrated, with a dominant firm and a few fringe firms. This condition has generated considerable public debate about the degree of competition in the airline industry in Chile. With the purpose of contributing to the public discussion, this paper analyzes the industry from an industrial organization point of view. Specifically, the paper describes the domestic airline industry in …

Specific Knowledge And Performance Measurement, Michael Raith

Michael Raith

I examine optimal incentives and performance measurement in a model where an agent has specific knowledge (in the sense of Jensen and Meckling) about the consequences of his actions for the principal. Contracts can be based both on “input” measures related to the agent’s actions and an “output” measure related to the principal’s payoff. Whereas input-based pay minimizes income risk, only output-based pay encourages the agent to use his knowledge efficiently. In general, it is optimal to use both kinds of performance measures. The results help to explain some empirical puzzles and lead to several new predictions.

Clean Air Regulation And Heterogeneity In Us Gasoline Prices, Ujjayant N. Chakravorty, Celine Nauges, Alban Thomas

Ujjayant Chakravorty

In order to improve public health in areas with air quality problems, the US Clean Air Act imposes a variety of federal regulations on gasoline, which have led to a proliferation of fuel blends known as ‘‘boutique fuels.’’ More than 45 fuel blends are sold nationwide. We examine the effects of this program on wholesale gasoline prices. The methodological innovation in this study is the use of a regulatory distance measure as a proxy for measuring market power that arises from product differentiation. We find that Clean Air regulation increases gasoline prices by increasing the cost of refining, but more …

“Selling Licenses For A Process Innovation: The Impact Of The Product Market On The Selling Mechanism, Aniruddha Bagchi

Aniruddha Bagchi

Democracy Autocracy And Macroeconomic Performance In Pakistan, Nasir Iqbal, Sardar Javaid Iqbal Khan, Muhammad Irfan Chani

Muhammad Irfan Chani

Pakistan showed a healthy growth rate of 5.6 percent during the entire history and faced many ups and downs in economic growth due to dramatic changes in political regimes. The literature shows mixed results regarding the impact of autocracy or democracy on economic growth. The aggregate growth of the economy under autocracy remained better as compared to democratic period. Financial indicators show consistent path through out the history of Pakistan. Different trade policies are designed in different regime to run the external sector and the impact of each policy was different.