When are anonymous congestion charges consistent with marginal cost pricing?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Arnott, R; Kraus, M
• 署名单位: Boston College
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(97)00059-5
• 发表日期: 1998
• 页码: 45-64
• 关键词: clubs; congestion; congestion pricing; externalities

摘要

There are constraints on pricing congestible facilities. First, if heterogeneous users are observationally indistinguishable, then congestion charges must be anonymous. Second, the time variation of congestion charges may be constrained. Do these constraints undermine the feasibility of marginal cost pricing, and hence the applicability of the first-best theory of congestible facilities? For an important class of congestible facilities, we show that if heterogeneous users behave identically when using the facility and if the time variation of congestion charges is unconstrained, then marginal cost pricing is feasible with anonymous congestion charges. If, however, the time variation of congestion charges is constrained, optimal pricing with anonymous congestion charges entails Ramsey pricing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.