Ski-Lift Pricing, with Applications to Labor and Other.

The market for ski runs or amusement rides often features admission tickets with no explicit price per ride. Therefore, the equilibrium i nvolves queues, which are systematically longer during peak periods s uch as weekends. Moreover, the prices of admission tickets are much l ess responsive than the length of queues to variations in demand, eve n when these variations are predictable. Despite the queues and stick y prices, the authors show that the outcomes are nearly efficient und er plausible conditions. They then show that similar results obtain f or some familiar congestion problems and for profit-sharing schemes i n the labor market. Copyright 1987 by American Economic Association.