Paying Vs. Waiting in the Pursuit of Specific Egalitarianism

Jeremy Clark and Bonggeun Kim ()

Working Papers in Economics from University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance

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.

Keywords: In-kind provision; redistribution; specific egalitarianism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D30 D45 H31 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2006-03-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pbe
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Paying vs. waiting in the pursuit of specific egalitarianism (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cbt:econwp:06/08

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