In this document, we present the notion of a cost game, defined as a cooperative game where the gain from cooperation is the cost reduction obtained when the projects of a set of agents are realized in a coordinated way. The problem is then to decide how this gain will be shared among agents or...

In this paper, we present the main solution concepts for cooperative games, which have been used in the context of cost games. We put a special emphasis on the concept of core. We also present the concepts of semicore, von Neumann-Morgenstern stable set, nucleolus and Shapley value. However, we...

Large cities have underground networks of pipes and/or wires for water, sewage, natural gas, electricity and telecommunication services. These networks carry heavy fixed costs that must be shared among users. This problem has specific characteristics that we illustrate with an example. After...

In this paper, we present the different cost sharing methods one can find in the economic literature. We regroup the methods into three sets : the proportional methods, the cooperative game theory methods and the serial cost sharing methods. All those methods are presented through the stylized...

It is important that the choice of a cost sharing method be made on the basis of its general equity and consistency properties rather than on the basis of the results it may generate in a given application. In this paper, we partition the different methods according to whether they satisfy a...

Paul Krugman developed a general equilibrium model with two sectors and two regions in 1991, from which two patterns of industrial localization could be endogenously deduced, dispersion at 50% and total concentration. The introduction of transport costs, which depend on the size of the...

The relationship between public investment and economic is one of the most highly debated issues in economic policy circles in recent years. This topic has been analyzed from several approaches, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective. In this paper we present a survey of the main...

""Access to guaranteed markets for produce and for the acquisition of inputs is a major problem confronting smallholders... The questions addressed by this research are: (a) how can agricultural contracts be enforced in the face of Ghana’s weak legal system; (b) what approaches can be...

This paper exploits the results of a survey conducted by the Bank of Italy in 2012 on a sample of 1,200 Italian manufacturers in order to analyse logistics costs, outsourcing and the features potentially impacting on the efficiency of the Italian supply chain. We also compare manufacturers'...

The topic of financing long-term investment is on the top of the agenda of economic policy makers and it is among the priorities of the Italian Presidency of the European Union. The paper describes the main international initiatives in the field and highlights the three most promising courses of...