Serviços de telecomunicações são importantes não apenas pela sua característica de setor de infra-estrutura mas também pelo seus potenciais efeitos de spill over. A universalização dos serviços de telecomunicações tem sido uma parte importante da intervenção regulatória. As justificativas podem ser econômicas: externalidades de rede, ou não econômicas: cidadania e coesão social. Das várias possibilidades alternativas de políticas, apresenta-se a implementação dos preços de Ramsey, através de markup, como um meio de minimizar as perdas de eficiência econômica na consecução ao deste objetivo, a partir de diferentes cenários de estruturas de mercado e valores de parâmetros. / Telecommunications services are relevant, not only due to its infra-structure service characteristic, but also for their spill over potential effects. Telecommunication suniversal service has been a relevant piece of the regulatory process. Economic reasons might be network externalities; whilst non-economic, citizenship and social cohesion. Among the alternative policy possibilities, it is suggested the implementa-tion of Ramsey pricing, through markup, as a mean to minimize the loss of economic efficiency in reaching this purpose, from different market structures scenarios and parameters values.

Serviços de telecomunicações são importantes não apenas pela sua característica de setor de infra-estrutura mas também pelo seus potenciais efeitos de spill over. A universalização dos serviços de telecomunicações tem sido uma parte importante da intervenção regulatória. As justificativas podem ser econômicas: externalidades de rede, ou não econômicas: cidadania e coesão social. Das várias possibilidades alternativas de políticas, apresenta-se a implementação dos preços de Ramsey, através de markup, como um meio de minimizar as perdas de eficiência econômica na consecução ao deste objetivo, a partir de diferentes cenários de estruturas de mercado e valores de parâmetros. / Telecommunications services are relevant, not only due to its infra-structure service characteristic, but also for their spill over potential effects. Telecommunication suniversal service has been a relevant piece of the regulatory process. Economic reasons might be network externalities; whilst non-economic, citizenship and social cohesion. Among the alternative policy possibilities, it is suggested the implementa-tion of Ramsey pricing, through markup, as a mean to minimize the loss of economic efficiency in reaching this purpose, from different market structures scenarios and parameters values.

In the first chapter, I consider the institutional structures as well as the doctrines typically encountered in the surface water sector. To investigate the sources and methods of government support in the water sector, I categorize different sorts of government support according to the location of water along the water cycle. I conclude the section with examples of observed water markets. In the second chapter, I consider the problem of water usage, developing a model to analyze the optimal pricing of water within a second-best economy. As a water supplier, the local government may price discriminate across consumers and farmers. I introduce the second-best pricing scheme, derive conditions for the marginal-cost pricing and inverse-elasticity rules, and analyze when the government optimally deviates from these two pricing schemes. In the third chapter, I provide an analysis of the data I collected from Turkey. First, I examine the data on reservoir flows, including service share and fixed costs of the reservoirs. Then, I provide details about the relationship between the quantity and price of irrigation and of tap water. Finally, in the fourth chapter, I apply the theoretical framework to the data from Turkey. In Turkey, the current water-pricing policy is dictated by the sole objective of breaking-even in each period. This results in large withdrawals, which is not sustainable in the long-run, hence not optimal. I analyze the dynamic optimal water resource management problem of a benevolent government. I compare the implications of the current and the optimal pricing policies.

Sjöfartsverkets ställning liknande ett naturligt monopol och dagens politiska läge kräver en farledsavgift utformad på ett sätt som gör att Sjöfartsverket täcker sina kostnader samtidigt som de snedvrider beteendet av sjöfartens aktörer så lite som möjligt. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka elasticiteterna för olika fartygssegment och om Ramseyprissättning utifrån dessa kan användas för att utforma de svenska farledsavgifterna så att dessa krav uppfylls. Genom att kartlägga de avgiftsförändringar som skett mellan 2008–2020 och använda data från Sjöfartsverkets årliga farledsdeklarationer för samma period kan vi skatta elasticiteterna inom svensk sjöfart. Våra resultat indikerar att olika fartygssegment har olika elasticiteter vilket innebär att de har olika känslighet för avgiftsförändringar. Likt tidigare forskning är de elasticiteter vi får fram främst oelastiska och negativa. Vissa icke-signifikanta eller orimliga resultat innebär dock osäkerhet kring hur segmenten skiljer sig åt mellan varandra och över tid. Denna osäkerhet tillsammans med osäkerheten kring beräkningen av marginalkostnader och konkurrensen med andra transportslag gör att vi rekommenderar att Ramseyprissättning inte borde användas som grund för farledsavgifternas utformande i dagens läge. Vår kartläggning av avgiftsförändring kom fram till att endast två av dessa var lämpliga att utföra skattningar på. Detta tillsammans med det endogenitetsproblem som farledsavgifternas nuvarande struktur ger upphov till bidrog troligen till att vi inte kunde få fler signifikanta och rimliga elasticiteter. / The Swedish Maritime Administrations (SMA) position resembling that of a natural monopoly and the current political situation demands a fairway due designed in a way that allows the SMA to cover their costs while at the same time distorts the behaviour of the maritime agents as little as possible. The purpose of this essay is to examine the elasticities of different ship segments and whether Ramsey pricing based on these can be used to design the Swedish fairway dues in a way that meets these demands. By mapping the changes in dues between 2008-2020 and using data from the SMAs yearly fairway declarations during the same period, we can estimate the elasticities within Swedish shipping. Our results indicate that different ship segments have different elasticities which means that they have different sensitivity to changes in dues. Like previous research, the elasticities we find are mainly inelastic and negative. However, some insignificant or unreasonable results imply uncertainty around how the segments differ from each other and over time. This uncertainty together with the uncertainty around the calculations of marginal costs and competition with other modes of transportation makes us recommend not to use Ramsey pricing as a basis for designing the fairway dues in the current situation. Our mapping of changes in dues concluded that only two of these were suitable for making estimations. This, together with the endogeneity problem that the current structure of the fairway dues generates, probably contributed to our resulting elasticities not being more significant and reasonable.

Student Number : 7909638 - MCom dissertation - School of Economics and Business Sciences - Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management / Healthcare, it can be argued, is a commodity that has a social constitution. The reason may be because healthcare is seen to have its foundation in socio-economic principles but has evolved through scientific study and business application into a profitable business. The delivery of healthcare in South Africa and in many parts of the world has come under immense scrutiny from policy-makers, high-volume purchasers, patient-consumers and the healthcare community. Arguments criticizing the high cost of healthcare delivery range from levelling the blame on one component (pharmaceuticals, medical fees, inadequate medical scheme cover to name a few examples) to a condemnation of the entire healthcare delivery system. The healthcare cost deliberation has also shifted to the centre stage in many public-policy debates and certainly caught the imagination of the public and journalists alike. It is an emotional debate. A review of related literature of the past fifty years (such as the Sainsbury Report (1967), the Kefauver Hearings (1963) and the Snyman Report (1962)), reveals that healthcare and the cost of healthcare delivery are some of the most frequently debated areas amongst the citizens and policy makers of both the developed and developing world. Pharmaceutical prices, more often than not, have been cast as the primary reason that the delivery cost of healthcare is so high. The methods used by pharmaceutical companies to promote their products – elaborate conventions, colourful brochures and generous amounts of free samples (certainly in previous years) to physicians may have contributed to this perception. Furthermore, the fact that the absolute cost of manufacturing a single capsule or tablet (including drugs that are no longer under patent) is a small fraction of the actual selling price also tends to raise the public ire. A greater understanding of pricing structures is necessary to appreciate this sector. The writer’s own experience in the area of healthcare that involves insurance for medical risks (medical schemes - the private healthcare funding system) suggests that it is crucial that pharmaceutical pricing structures be understood against this backdrop. Therefore the main reasons for undertaking this study are: i. to appreciate the pricing structures of pharmaceuticals to inform policy debates; ii. the current empirical evidence1 in the South African market has indicated that pharmaceuticals are unfairly priced and has prompted the Department of Health to introduce price regulations2. One goal of the research is to ascertain whether this is accurate; and iii. to obtain a broader knowledge base of the issue of pharmaceutical pricing practices in the South African healthcare market. It was with this approach that the area of pharmaceutical pricing and the topic was decided upon.

This study aims to provide an empirical investigation of Postal Services pricing in Turkey by way of computing Ramsey prices and examining the sensitivity of Ramsey prices to changes in demand and cost parameters. In this study, the Ramsey pricing problem is stated as maximizing a welfare function subject to the Post Office attaining a certain degree of profitability. The conditions necessary for the Post Office to be able to price efficiently have implications for Ramsey pricing. We estimate demand functions and cost structure of letters and express mail using data from Turkish Postal Services. The robustness of the Ramsey rule is assessed under alternative estimates of demand and similarly, in the absence of reliable data, under alternative intervals of marginal cost. Ramsey prices for two letter categories and welfare gains of moving from the existing pricing structure to Ramsey are determined and examined. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the existing policy is not Ramsey optimal and that this is a fairly robust result.

This dissertation details regulation's impact in networked markets, notably in deregulated electricity and internet service markets. These markets represent basic infrastructure in the modern economy; their innate networked structures make for rich fields of economic research on regulatory impact. The first chapter models deregulated electricity industries with a focus on the Texas market. Optimal economic benchmarks are considered for markets with regulated delivery and interrelated network costs. Using a model of regulator, consumer, and firm interaction, I determine the efficiency of the current rate formalization compared to Ramsey-Boiteux prices and two-part tariffs. I find within Texas's market increases to generator surplus up to 55% of subsidies could be achieved under Ramsey-Boiteux pricing or two-part tariffs, respectively. The second chapter presents a framework to analyze dynamic processes and long-run outcomes in two-sided markets, specifically dynamic platform and firm investment incentives within the internet-service platform/content provision market. I use the Ericson-Pakes framework applied within a platform that chooses fees on either side of its two-sided market. This chapter determines the impact of network neutrality on platform investment incentives, specifically whether to improve the platform. I use a parameterized calibration from engineering reports and current ISP literature to determine welfare outcomes and industry behavior under network neutral and non-neutral regimes. My final chapter explores retail firm failure within the deregulated Texas retail electricity market. This chapter investigates determinants of retail electric firm failures using duration analysis frameworks. In particular, this chapter investigates the impact of these determinants on firms with extant experience versus unsophisticated entrants. Understanding these determinants is an important component in evaluating whether deregulation achieves the impetus of competitive electricity market restructuring. Knowing which economic events decrease a market's competitiveness helps regulators to effectively evaluate policy implementations. I find that experience does benefit a firm's duration, but generally that benefit assists firm duration in an adverse macroeconomic environment rather than in response to adverse market conditions such as higher wholesale prices or increased transmission congestion. Additionally, I find evidence that within the Texas market entering earlier results in a longer likelihood of duration. / text