Water rates are designed to meet multiple objectives, typically resulting in tradeoffs among the objectives of economic efficiency, revenue sufficiency, and related revenue stability. Standard theory of natural monopoly is extended here to explain why long-run marginal cost (LMC) can be greater than both average cost and short-run marginal cost (SMC) for municipal water utilities. The distincti...

Abstract The concept of intergenerational fairness has taken hold across Europe since the 2008 financial crisis. In United Kingdom (UK), focus on conflict been further sharpened by 2016 ‘Brexit’ vote to take UK out European Union. However, current debates around are taking place among policy makers, media and in think-tanks. this way, they conversations about, but not with, people. This article...

why depending on the rationality of the market will never work well for quality of care (box). Sensible policy for providing nursing home care requires a larger welfare state, a larger regulatory state, and encouragement of public, non-profit providers. Australia’s recent experience shows that to head in the opposite direction is medically, economically, and politically irrational. Competing in...

Economic theory is often abused in practical policy-making. There is frequently excessive focus on sophisticated theory at the expense of elementary theory; too much economic knowledge can sometimes be a dangerous thing. Too little attention is paid to the wider economic context, and to the dangers posed by political pressures. Superficially trivial distinctions between policy proposals may be ...