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Paying Vs. Waiting in the Pursuit of Specific Egalitarianism

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Abstract

We propose an allocation mechanism for publicly providing a private good such that the final allocation is simultaneously independent of income and increasing in strength of preference or need. The "pay or wait" mechanism consists of offering the good for sale at two outlets. The 'queuing' outlet would charge a low money price per unit, but high waiting timer per unit. The 'pricing' outlet would charge a relatively high money price with rapid service. High wage individuals will opt for the pricing outlet, and low wage individuals the queuing outlet. If the policy maker stocks the outlets in proportion to the distribution of high and low wage earners in the population, consumers of both wages will purchase the same amount on average, while those who value the good more relative to other goods will receive more of it. These outcomes are at risk if the good can be privately resold, but may be preserved if the policy maker can create transactions costs associated with resale.

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  • Jeremy Clark & Bonggeun Kim, 2006. "Paying Vs. Waiting in the Pursuit of Specific Egalitarianism," Working Papers in Economics 06/08, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbt:econwp:06/08
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    6. Jeremy Clark & Bonggeun Kim, 2006. "Differential Time and Money Pricing as a Mechanism for In-kind Redistribution," Working Papers in Economics 06/07, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander, Matthew & MacLaren, Andrew & O’Gorman, Kevin & White, Christopher, 2012. "Priority queues: Where social justice and equity collide," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 875-884.
    2. Erwin Ooghe, 2019. "Markets, Queues, and Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 7910, CESifo.
    3. Jeremy Clark & Bonggeun Kim, 2006. "Differential Time and Money Pricing as a Mechanism for In-kind Redistribution," Working Papers in Economics 06/07, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    4. Haizhen Mou, 2012. "The political economy of public health expenditure and wait times in a public‐private mixed health care system," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(4), pages 1640-1666, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    In-kind provision; redistribution; specific egalitarianism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D45 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Rationing; Licensing
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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