Using a variance components model, this paper examines the economic and political variables that may affect the rate of return on equity allowed electric utilities. The evidence indicates that both the risk and the size of the firm are positively related to the allowed return on equity. The use...

In the electric utility industry cost minimization requires that heterogeneous electric generation technologies be used to produce electricity demands of different durations. In contrast to the conclusions of traditional peak-load pricing theory, the existence of a heterogeneous capital stock...

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The Federal Communications Commission has enacted final rules for cable television systems in the 100 largest television markets, restricting cable service to a greater degree than previously proposed. Most systems will be limited to importing only two distant television signals. Furthermore,...

This article examines the effect of three forms of regulation (rate of return, ceiling-price, and markup) upon the rate and direction of technical advance selected by a myopic profit maximizing firms. With a homothetic production function ceiling-price regulation induces a faster rate of...

Economists' advice regarding the probable costs of actions contemplated by regulated industries may not be of much practical use for regulatory commissions. The sticky point is how to compute correctly the foregone alternative value of the allocated resources. This paper was revised while the...

Book review

This articles uses an infinite growth model to estimate the cost of equity capital for electric utilities for the period 1958-1976. The infinite growth model permits the development of a simple linear regression relating market-price-to-book-value-ratios to rates of return. From this regression,...

This article studies arrangements concerning the payment of a fee by a principal to his agent. For such an arrangement, or fee schedule, to be Pareto optimal, it must implicitly serve to allocate the risk attaching to the outcome of the agent's activity in a satisfactory way and to create...

Since about 1970, ten or twenty papers have been written making use of control theory or programming to analyze optimum or market equilibrium urban land use. The purpose of these notes is to survey and evaluate this new approach to urban economics. Most contributions to the new urban economics...