ABSTRACT
Given the advantages of market prices it is not surprising that economists are almost unanimous in their recommendation to impose political prices in the form of user charges in many situations where market prices are absent. In cases where price-excludable goods and services are being publicly provided at little or no charge (for example, airport landings), or where economic activity generates significant social costs (for example, polluting activities), politically imposed user charges are seen by economists as efficiency-enhancing alternatives to market prices.
