Abstract This is the fifth in a series of teaching notes on quality-differentiated demand. With an eye on accessibility to undergraduate econ majors, the focus here is on peak-load pricing and highway tolls. Once quality considerations are accounted for, a richer set of insights is derived to...

A.A. Walters derived a traffic flow function, and advocated toll to cure congestion. He wanted to save lives and monies, time is money, in congestion. NYC and Hong Kong have been practicing his policy for years, but surviving drivers are still tortured by congestion. Walters’ intention is...

In the face of capacity disruptions (due, for example, to traffic incidents or poor weather), information provision and congestion pricing are alternative alleviating policies. A state-dependent toll equals the state-dependent marginal external cost (MEC), which is higher if traffic condition is...

Solar and wind power are now cheaper than fossil fuels but are intermittent. The extra supply-side variability implies growing benefits of using real-time retail pricing (RTP). We evaluate the potential gains of RTP using a model that jointly solves investment, supply, storage, and demand to...