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The Provision and Pricing of Excludable Public Goods: Ramsey-Boiteux Pricing versus Bundling

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  • Hellwig, Martin

    (Sonderforschungsbereich 504)

Abstract

This paper studies the relation between Bayesian mechanism design and the Ramsey-Boiteux approach to the provision and pricing of excludable public goods. For a large economy with private information about individual preferences, the two approaches are shown to be equivalent if and only if, in addition to incentive compatibility and participation contraints, the final allocation of private-good consumption and admission tickets to public goods satisfies a condition of renegotiation proofness. Without this condition, a mechanism involving mixed bundling, i.e. combination tickets at a discount, is superior.

Suggested Citation

  • Hellwig, Martin, 2004. "The Provision and Pricing of Excludable Public Goods: Ramsey-Boiteux Pricing versus Bundling," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 04-02, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.
    • Handle: RePEc:xrs:sfbmaa:04-02
    Note: Without implicating them, I thank Felix Bierbrauer, Christian Hellwig, and Peter Norman for helpful discussions. I am also grateful for research support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through Sonderforschungsbereich 504 at the University of Mannheim.
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    File URL: http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/publications/dp04-02.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Pavanini, Nicola & Feger, Fabian & Radulescu, Doina, 2017. "Welfare and Redistribution in Residential Electricity Markets with Solar Power," CEPR Discussion Papers 12517, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Bierbrauer, Felix J., 2011. "Incomplete contracts and excludable public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 553-569.
    3. Hanming Fang & Peter Norman, 2014. "Toward an efficiency rationale for the public provision of private goods," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 56(2), pages 375-408, June.
    4. Vincent Meisner & Pascal Pillath, 2024. "Monetizing digital content with network effects: A mechanism-design approach," Papers 2408.15196, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2025.
    5. Stefano Galavotti, 2014. "Reducing Inefficiency in Public Good Provision Through Linking," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(3), pages 427-466, June.
    6. Meisner, Vincent & Pillath, Pascal, 2024. "Monetizing digital content with network effects: A mechanism-design approach," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302417, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Vincent Meisner & Pascal Pillath, 2024. "Monetizing digital content with network effects: A mechanism-design approach," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0049, Berlin School of Economics.
    8. James B. Davies & Al Slivinski, 2005. "The Public Role in Provision of Scientific Information: An Economic Approach," University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers 20051, University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute.
    9. Vincent Meisner & Pascal Pillath, 2025. "Monetizing Digital Content with Network Effects," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 541, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    10. repec:cgr:cgsser:03-08 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Felix Bierbrauer, 2010. "An incomplete contracts perspective on the provision and pricing of excludable public goods," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics 2010_01, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics.
    12. Maxime Agbo & Agnes Zabsonre, 2023. "Why and how a well-intended (local) government can hide information from citizens for their own good: The case of public goods provision in less developed areas," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(1), pages 484-499.
    13. Sun, Xiang & Sun, Yeneng & Wu, Lei & Yannelis, Nicholas C., 2017. "Equilibria and incentives in private information economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 474-488.
    14. Hellwig, Martin, 2004. "Optimal income taxation, public-goods provision and public-sector pricing : a contribution to the foundations of public economics," Papers 04-42, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    15. Radulescu, Doina & Feger, Fabian, 2017. "One vs. Two Instruments for Redistribution: The Case of Public Utility Pricing," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168138, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    16. Bierbrauer Felix J., 2016. "Effizienz oder Gerechtigkeit?: Ungleiche Einkommen, ungleiche Vermögen und Optimale Steuern," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 2-24, April.
    17. Felix Kolle, 2012. "Heterogeneity and Cooperation in Privileged Groups: The Role of Capability and Valuation on Public Goods Provision," Discussion Papers 2012-07, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    18. Gravel, Nicolas & Poitevin, Michel, 2019. "Optimal provision of a public good with costly exclusion," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 451-460.
    19. Felix Bierbrauer, 2016. "Effizienz oder Gerechtigkeit? Ungleiche Einkommen, ungleiche Vermögen und die Theorie der optimalen Besteuerung," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics 2016_03, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics.
    20. Hellwig, Martin F., 2007. "The provision and pricing of excludable public goods: Ramsey-Boiteux pricing versus bundling," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3-4), pages 511-540, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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