In this article the shift of the Swedish goverment´s policies for the financing through taxation, fees and prices paid for the use of roads and railroads from 1945 until the 2010s is discussed. It is argued that the shift from a full-cost coverage principle to a short term social marginal cost principle can be seen in the light of the controversy between a Coasean and a Pigovian perspective. The Coasean perspective furthers an institutional view where organizations and dynamic development matters while the Pigovian perspective furthers a welfare economic equilibrium view where organizations are less focused. It is argued that the shift in policies coincided with less interest and focus on the organizational perspective and incentives for organizational efficiency, which can be seen in the public documents from the time. The government seems to have been guided by a mar ket failure stance since the 1970s which has motivated growing intervention, following a mar ket-economy stance in the first 25 years after the nationalization of roads and railroads. A current opening in transport infrastructure policies with more room for alternative financing, user charges and fees might, even though also consistent with short term social marginal cost principles, signal a revival of a perspective more in line with the Coasean view. / <p>QC 20130614</p>

No / The marginal cost approach for the analysis of repair/replacement models was introduced by Berg in 1980 and has since been applied to many maintenance policies of various complexity. All models hitherto analysed in the literature by the marginal cost approach have one single decision variable only, this being, typically, the age of the current item at the time of ordering or replacement. This paper is concerned with the extension of the marginal cost technique to maintenance policies with several decision variables. After addressing the general framework appropriate for the multi-parameter case, we exemplify the workings of the technique by analysing a two-variable maintenance model involving replacement and minimal repair. We demonstrate that the marginal cost approach is an attractive and intuitively appealing technique also for models with several decision variables. Just as in the single-parameter situation, the approach is amenable to economic interpretation, a welcome feature for users of maintenance models with a prime interest in its economic (rather than its mathematical) aspects. As an added bonus of the marginal cost approach, in our example, some otherwise necessary tools from the theory of stochastic processes are dispensable.

Après avoir rappelé les fondements théoriques de la notion de la tarification, et présenté les différentes méthodes d'évaluation des coûts externes, nous passons à l'apport original de cette thèse qui se décompose en trois parties. Dans un premier temps, on a procédé à l'évaluation physique et monétaire des différents coûts externes. Ces étapes constituent un préalable à une politique de tarification visant à internaliser les coûts externes. On a estimé les coûts marginaux externes de congestion, de pollution atmosphérique, de bruit et des accidents. On s'est intéressé à un cas particulier qu'est le transport des personnes en Ile-de-France. On suppose trois modes de transport (voiture, bus et rail) et deux périodes de déplacement (heures de pointe et heures creuses). Notre analyse se base sur l'évaluation monétaire des coûts marginaux de congestion, de pollution atmosphérique, de nuisance sonore et des accidents. Dans un deuxième temps, on a estimé un modèle logit multinomial pour déterminer le choix entre les différents modes de transport. Une fois le modèle estimé, on a étudié l'effet de la tarification au coût marginal sur le comportement des franciliens. On suppose deux scénarios: un scénario sans tarification et un scénario avec tarification. On calcule ainsi le partage modal des usagers et le bien-être qui en découle. Enfin, on a déterminé un lien de causalité entre le choix de mode et le choix de l'heure de déplacement. Pour se faire on a utilisé un sous-échantillon regroupant les déplacements en voiture particulière et en transport en commun pour les motifs non-professionnels. On a distingué entre deux catégories d'usagers les travailleurs et les non-travailleurs. On a estimé un modèle probit bivarié et on a pu déduire la structure de causalité la plus appropriée pour chaque catégories d'usagers. On a montré que les travailleurs choisissent en première étape l'heure ensuite ils choisissent le mode. En revanche, les non-travailleurs sont plus flexibles dans les choix horaires donc ils déterminent en première étape le mode ensuite ils choisissent l'heure de déplacement. / Externalies transport pricing

In wastewater management big variations in flowrates, caused by precipitation, leads to high peak loads forcing treatment facilities to maintain large over capacity. Wastewater management is a capital-intensive industry, meaning that new investments are costly and should therefore be avoided. But as peak load levels increase and stricter regulations are imposed it becomes increasingly hard to maintain sufficient reduction rates and facilities are likely to face new investments if the highest flowrates can’t be reduced. One way to reduce flowrates is to charge higher prices for the peak loads through an efficient tariff design. This thesis includes a literature review to define what constitutes an efficient tariff and then moves on to develop a model including marginal cost pricing and increasing block tariff design that examine how the marginal cost price is affected by constructing the tariff in different ways. The results show that the marginal price can be significantly increased by adapting this approach compared to a two part tariff with one fixed and one variable part which is commonly used by wastewater utilities today. The biggest deciding factor will be how the marginal block is defined.

Taxes are major source of public funds to finance government expenditures. Tax authorities impose different kind of taxes and employ many agents to collect taxes effectively. Some dutiful taxpayers will undoubtedly pay their tax liabilities while many others will not. The Internal Revenue Service in the United States reports that the estimate of income tax liability not collected is about 17, which translates into 345 billion for 2001. It is important to make a distinction between tax evasion and tax avoidance. The distinguishing characteristic of evasion is illegality. Whether the reason for not paying tax liability is avoidance or evasion, economic models of taxation need to be changed in the light of these realities. In this study, I analyze some of the economic problems of tax evasion/avoidance. In the first chapter, I discuss the relationship between number of tax audits, tax administration reform and tax compliance in Turkey. In recent years, many developing countries have carried out reforms in their tax administration to increase their efficiency in collecting taxes. In 2005, the tax authority in Turkey established Tax Office Directorates (T.O.D.s) in 29 provinces for the purpose of controlling the underground economy, improving taxpayer assistance, and increasing auditing efficiency. By using the panel data on province level tax returns, my analysis answers two questions. First, I examine the effect of audits on reported income and reported tax liability. By controlling for the detectibility of evasion and other socioeconomic variables, I find that audits have the same effectiveness in increasing reported income and reported tax liability. Second, I investigate the effect of establishing T.O.D.s in 29 provinces on compliance in those provinces. I find that T.O.D.s are effective at the extensive margin rather than the intensive margin. Thus, establishing T.O.D.s had no significant effect on the compliance level of existing taxpayers while it increased the number of tax returns significantly. In the second chapter, I analyze the excess burden on income tax when tax avoidance matters. I present a simple static labor supply model with endogenous asset choice. Then, I examine how tax avoidance through asset trading a ects the labor supply response and the excess burden of income tax. Furthermore, I discuss the implications of the tax policy analysis and show that a failure to account for avoidance responses may lead to errors when estimating how tax reform affects labor supply, tax revenue, and the welfare cost of taxation. Because of tax avoidance through tax arbitrage, the progressivity of a given tax system will be less than what the formal tax system implies. In the third chapter,we study the Marginal Cost of Funds in the existence of tax evasion. We develop a general equilibrium model of tax evasion, including the expected utility of taxpayers and three different revenue-raising government policies. In this rich model environment, we analytically derive the marginal cost of funds (MCF) for the alternative policy instruments. We consider two main fiscal reforms: the revision in the nonlinear tax scheme and the changes in enforcement mechanism (the audit and penalty rates). First, we derive the MCF for the tax reform and find its key determinants. The derived MCF is greater than the previous ones since it includes a "risk-bearing cost" as well as tax distortion. The reform in enforcement mechanism generates MCFs in different forms. Two more MCFs with respect to audit and penalty rates are presented. Finally, we compare these three different MCFs in numerical example and provide some policy implications. / text

Thesis (M. Com. (Accountancy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accountancy, 2014. / At the 2009 Copenhagen climate-change talks South Africa proposed a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 34% in 2020 and 42% in 2025. This report is intended to research and conclude upon whether South Africa can practically implement a carbon emissions tax in order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted, as well as on whether the introduction of a carbon emissions tax would be an appropriate way in which to address the climate change problem and South Africa’s contribution thereto. The research undertaken is necessary as South Africa is a relatively large emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases thereby contributing to the global problem of climate change which is caused by these emissions and if South Africa wants to honour its proposed reduction, a measure is needed in order to ensure South Africa reduces its harmful greenhouse gas emissions, of which the levying of a carbon emissions tax is researched as such a measure. The research, a detailed literature that identified potential areas of concern or negative impact on the economy and the identified ‘issues’ were when used in a correspondence survey to test the perception of professionals with a knowledge of the proposed carbon tax. The conclusion reached was that a carbon emissions tax cannot be successfully implemented at this time due to the prevailing economic conditions in South Africa as well as the potential resulting negative effects on the country’s low-income population and on South Africa’s international competitiveness. It is recommended that the possibility of implementing a carbon emissions tax should be re-evaluated at a future stage once the country’s economy is more developed.

A recém-adquirida competitividade pela energia eólica frente a outras fontes alternativas e, até mesmo, convencionais tem sido comemorada pelo setor de energia elétrica. No entanto, a base para essa comparação leva em conta apenas os parâmetros dos investimentos do parque viabilizado, não sendo considerados outros fatores inerentes à inserção da fonte na matriz, como, por exemplo, o aumento do risco ao sistema, investimento necessário à ampliação da Rede Básica para escoamento da energia para o centro de carga e os custos com redespacho de geração, reserva girante e controles do sistema. O maior potencial está concentrado no Nordeste e o maior centro de carga no Sudeste, assim, em caso de exploração intensiva do potencial da fonte, será necessário passar por grandes investimentos em reforços e ampliações da rede básica. A partir desse panorama, busca-se realizar as primeiras análises de sensibilidade sobre a eficiência econômica dos parques eólicos instalados no Nordeste e, ao mesmo tempo, analisar as condições de atendimento da ponta. / The newfound competitiveness in wind power compared to other alternative and even conventional energy sources has been celebrated by the electric power sector. However, the basis for this comparison takes into account only the parameters of the Capex, not considering other factors inherent in the insertion of the source in the array, for example, increase the risk to the system, expansion of the investment necessary for Basic network for transport of energy to the load center and the cost of redispatch generation, spinning reserve, and system controls. The greatest potential is concentrated in the Northeast and the largest load hub in the Southeast, so, in case of intensive exploitation of the potential of the source, large investments in reinforcements and expansions of the grid will be necessary. From this overview, we attempt the firsts sensitivity analysis on the economic efficiency of wind farms in the Northeast and the load peak supply conditions.

Several factors have influenced the recent development in charging of heavy goods vehicles in Europe. European legislation is changed and the political will is strong in many countries. The public awareness and acceptance is large for the need to put a price and a cost on the use of infrastructure. Environmental concerns are also actuating change in this direction. Systems are being introduced to support and enhance principles of marginal cost, fair pricing, inclusion of emission factors and to support modal shift. This has laid the foundation for a payment will for good technical solutions in the field of road user charging. This licentiate thesis aims at analysing and identifying the most important factors and areas to focus on for reaching a successful implementation of a system for charging heavy goods vehicles based on distance and marginal cost. These are: - Public acceptance and use of opportunities and public opinion - The political process and most important decision points - The legal framework before and during introduction as well as for operation of a system - The institutional framework - Responsibility assignment - System procurement and implementation, including procurement strategy, technology choices, testing and demonstration and interoperability Another important contribution is the implementation process model for an introduction of a distance based system for heavy goods vehicles in a country. The model comprises of the most important aspects to consider which has been made through the study and analysis of both implemented and cancelled systems as well as planned introductions, where the Swedish work in this direction has formed the major part of the analysis. The implementation process model with its main actors, decision points and information flow between actor groups are cornerstones of the model, which can serve as a tool for future implementers to follow.

<p>Several factors have influenced the recent development in charging of heavy goods vehicles in Europe. European legislation is changed and the political will is strong in many countries. The public awareness and acceptance is large for the need to put a price and a cost on the use of infrastructure. Environmental concerns are also actuating change in this direction. Systems are being introduced to support and enhance principles of marginal cost, fair pricing, inclusion of emission factors and to support modal shift. This has laid the foundation for a payment will for good technical solutions in the field of road user charging.</p><p>This licentiate thesis aims at analysing and identifying the most important factors and areas to focus on for reaching a successful implementation of a system for charging heavy goods vehicles based on distance and marginal cost. These are:</p><p>- Public acceptance and use of opportunities and public opinion</p><p>- The political process and most important decision points</p><p>- The legal framework before and during introduction as well as for operation of a system</p><p>- The institutional framework</p><p>- Responsibility assignment</p><p>- System procurement and implementation, including procurement strategy, technology choices, testing and demonstration and interoperability</p><p>Another important contribution is the implementation process model for an introduction of a distance based system for heavy goods vehicles in a country. The model comprises of the most important aspects to consider which has been made through the study and analysis of both implemented and cancelled systems as well as planned introductions, where the Swedish work in this direction has formed the major part of the analysis. The implementation process model with its main actors, decision points and information flow between actor groups are cornerstones of the model, which can serve as a tool for future implementers to follow.</p>

Over the last 20 years, electricity markets around the world have gradually been deregulated, creating wholesale markets in which generating companies compete for the right to supply electricity, through an offering system. This thesis considers the optimisation of the offering process from the perspective of an individual generator, subject to intertemporal constraints including fuel limitations, correlated rest-of-market behaviour patterns and unit operational decisions. Contributions from the thesis include a Pre-Processing scheme that results in considerable computational benefits for a two-level Dynamic Programming method, in addition to the development of a new process that combines the techniques of Decision Analysis and Dynamic Programming.