Consider users who can choose between using two modes of travel (say a road and mass transit), and who can choose to incur a fixed cost that reduces the future costs of using mass transit. A congestion toll on the road may serve two purposes. First, it can induce users in the current period to...

Governmental facilities for such services as education, health, and transportation are often small, of poor quality, and overcrowded, even when the costs are spread among all taxpayers. We also find that governments may subsidize private facilities providing the same services, or may charge...

For a conventional good, an increase in price reduces the consumer surplus of both those who no longer buy the good, and of those who continue to buy it. If, however, consumers must spend real resources to obtain rights for the good, or if the quality depends on the number of other consumers...

Cars manufactured in the United States have become increasingly fuel efficient in the past two decades, and many people attribute that to rising gasoline prices. From 1975 to 1985, following the 1973 oil embargo, the fuel efficiency of new cars increased by more than 60 percent. What's...

In this issue of ACCESS, we examine how land use considerations can improve transportation planning. Transportation planners have traditionally sought to maximize mobility by supplying better roads and common carriers, thus making it easier to move around. Seldom have they sought to improve the...

Consider a government that adopts a program, sees a noisy signal about its success, and decides whether to continue the program. Suppose further that the success of a program is greater if people think it will be continued. This paper considers the optimal decision rule for continuing the...