ABSTRACT
Problems of social queues and their resolution are typical occurrences in the use of social services. For example, for various reasons there is a tendency for the social demand for health services to exceed the effective supply of medical facilities. This gap is often manifested in the formation of queues of patients waiting for surgical treatment. Although the generally publicised rule that applies to resolving the queues is that of ‘first come first treated’, the physician may decide otherwise based on his or her own personal judgement. The social queues can be observed in other areas as well: specific education, subsidised housing, unemployment retraining, and who to serve first in poverty alleviation campaigns. In principle, there are no queues for private goods that are commonly bought and sold in a private market. The social queue problem occurs in the context of activities that are socially accepted as merit goods, are collectively provided by the public sector, but their supply is short of meeting demand, hence the use of the term ‘social’ to emphasise the ingredients of the problem and its general applicability to more areas.
