In order to determine the suitable diameter of a sewage pipe, it is necessary to know the increasing demand for the piping, the cost of capital (interest rate), and the cost function of the pipe. This article aims to evaluate, using statistics, the cost function for sewage pipes. We achieve this...

The method used to ration a project's output determines who obtains it, and therefore, the valuation that is placed on it. Hence, when we conduct cost-benefit studies, we must consider simultaneously the way in which a project's benefits are measured and the method used to ration a project's output

The correct conduct of benefit-cost analyses requires that consistency be maintained between benefit-cost measures and rationing-supply acquisition policies. This article demonstrates the technical and political difficulties that are associated with maintaining this required consistency. Given...

From an economic point of view, the 1980's promise to be a period of difficulty and adjustment for the water supply industry. Increased demands for water, new regulations and standards, increased investment outlays, relatively high inflation and associated interest rates will all create...

The purpose of this article is to analyze the economics of charging new customers more than old ones. We use urban water industry to illustrate many of our arguments. However, our analysis applies to all utilities. We begin with a general discussion of the economic concept of costs and their...

Global 2000's alarming statements about the future state of the world's water resources are inconsistent with - in face, are completely opposed to - the report's own analysis of what can be reasonably said about these resources. Since the materials on water represent such a clear example of the...

Uncle Sam's vast land holdings, six times the size of France, are up for grabs in one of the nation's most important political battles. On one front, the philosophical descendants of America's founders are fighting a host of corporate and environmental special interests over returning much of...

The "nationalization," or public take-over, of private assets can assume many forms. However, all share one common element, coercion. In all nationalizations, owners of private assets must transfer their assets to the government

The transfer of public assets, infrastructure, and services to the private sector is a new area of public policy and finance. It is so new, in fact, that the word privatize appeared in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary for the first time in 1983. In this essay, I will present theory and...