Cost allocation protocols for supply contract design in network situations

The class of Construct and Charge (CC-) rules for minimum cost spanning tree (mcst) situations is considered. CC-rules are defined starting from the notion of charge systems, which specify particular allocation protocols rooted on the Kruskal algorithm for computing an mcst. These protocols can be easily implemented in practical network situations (for instance, in supply transportation networks), are flexible to changes in the network situation and meet the requirement of continuous monitoring by the agents involved. Special charge systems, that we call conservative, lead to a subclass of CC-rules that coincides with the class of obligation rules for mcst situations. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2009