Efficiency versus social optimality: The case of telecommunications pricing

Standard arguments for efficiency-based pricing policies break down once it is admitted that no lump-sum transfers and taxes are available. In this paper, it is argued that the appropriate solution is to equate the marginal welfare cost of redistributing income through pricing policies that deviate from marginal cost with the marginal cost of redistribution through the tax and welfare systems. For telecommunications pricing, this solution may be implemented by charging usage prices for long-distance services in excess of marginal cost and making corresponding reductions in fixed access charges. An illustrative example, based on data for Australia, is presented.     

Does Privatisation Pay?

Abstract
Privatisation has become a popular policy since 1980, particularly for governments facing difficulty in raising revenue. However, there has been no consistent attempt to estimate the impact of privatisation on the net fiscal position of the public sector, or even to consider how such an estimate might be made. The object of this article is to consider the implications of privatisation from a fiscal perspective .
Privatisation automatically reduces budget deficits in the short and medium term. However, this apparent benefit reflects the generally defective nature of the budget deficit as a measure of public saving .
In this article, case studies of a number of actual and proposed privatisations are presented. In each case it is shown that the savings in public debt interest associated with privatisation are insufficient to offset the loss to the public sector of the earnings of the enterprise concerned. In many cases, the sale price is around 50 per cent of the present value of the stream of earnings foregone. This suggests that the loss in public sector net worth is as large as, or larger than, the sale price .