Even if there is an agreed-upon, fixed social objective function and policymakers know the timing and magnitude of the effects of their actions, discretionary policy, namely, the selection of that decision which is best, given the current situation and a correct evaluation of the end-of-period position, does not result in the social objective function being maximized. The reason for this apparent paradox is that economic planning is not a game against nature but, rather, a game against rational economic agents. We conclude that there is no way control theory can be made applicable to economic planning when expectations are rational.

Even if there is an agreed-upon, fixed social objective function and policymakers know the timing and magnitude of the effects of their actions, discretionary policy, namely, the selection of that decision which is best, given the current situation and a correct evaluation of the end-of-period position, does not result in the social objective function being maximized. The reason for this apparent paradox is that economic planning is not a game against nature but, rather, a game against rational economic agents. We conclude that there is no way control theory can be made applicable to economic planning when expectations are rational.

Optimal tolls, capacities, and service levels for highways can be determined jointly by way of an integrated peak-load pricing model. In this paper, such a model is developed and estimated with data for roads in the San Francisco Bay Area. The results suggest optimal peak user tolls of 2-7 cents per automobile mile on rural highways, 2-9 cents on suburban highways, and 6-35 cents on central city highways. Although our results are to some degree dependent on the interest rate, time value, and peak demand configuration assumed, one basic conclusion holds up under all alternative assumptions: current user charges are well below optimal peak tolls. However, our results also suggest considerably higher rush-hour speeds than currently prevail on Bay Area roads, and the lower travel time costs suggested by our analysis (relative to the current situation) should to some degree offset the corresponding higher user charges.

Optimal tolls, capacities, and service levels for highways can be determined jointly by way of an integrated peak-load pricing model. In this paper, such a model is developed and estimated with data for roads in the San Francisco Bay Area. The results suggest optimal peak user tolls of 2-7 cents per automobile mile on rural highways, 2-9 cents on suburban highways, and 6-35 cents on central city highways. Although our results are to some degree dependent on the interest rate, time value, and peak demand configuration assumed, one basic conclusion holds up under all alternative assumptions: current user charges are well below optimal peak tolls. However, our results also suggest considerably higher rush-hour speeds than currently prevail on Bay Area roads, and the lower travel time costs suggested by our analysis (relative to the current situation) should to some degree offset the corresponding higher user charges.

Present financial statement disclosure standards require that certain items be separately classified in the financial statements and presented net of their applicable income tax. Examples of such items are the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle, an extraordinary item and a gain or loss resulting from the disposal of a segment of a business. The determination of the income tax effect of such items is complicated when there are differential tax rates and multiple items which must be specially classified. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate this process and to discuss the complexities that arise when the specially classified items include offsetting gains and losses.

Starting with the increased role of nonprofit organizations and mounting pressures for accountability, this paper reviews several contemporary approaches used to achieve performance evaluation in nonprofit service organizations. An analysis of the deficiencies of social indicators, PPB systems and cost-benefit analysis leads to prospective cost-analytic solutions focusing upon costs and outcomes of service programs. In developing these solutions, cost-outcome is emphasized as fundamental to building viable cost-effectiveness analyses for service program evaluation and accountability. Conceptual discussions of related outcome issues follow. A detailed mental health example illustrates the application of the combined cost-outcome and cost-effectiveness methodology in assessing nonprofit performance for decision-making purposes.

This article evaluates students' perception of the presence of forecast data within traditional accounting statements. The data base utilized was generated by simulating financial statements containing varying forecast disclosure formats. The statements were generated under two conditions, unbiased versus intentionally biased forecasts and high versus low variation in the financial data over time. The data sets were distributed to students, and their responses were analyzed using analysis-of-variance. Disclosure of the point estimate of earnings per share, confidence interval and ratio of predictive ability were the most useful methods in this experiment for predicting future earnings per share.

This article examines the relative merits of tariffs and quotas as revenue raising devices in the presence of economic uncertainty. It has long been recognized that, provided the government auctions off the quota, the optimum pure tariff and the optimum pure quota are equivalent in a competitive world with no uncertainty. However, in such a world the equivalence is between a pure tariff and a pure quota that are both functions of the state of nature. The border policies that are most commonly resorted to by governments are fixed tariff rates and fixed quantity restrictions. They are often regarded as polar forms of trade restrictions. They have different very different effects: a fixed tariff on a commodity stabilizes its domestic price in the face of random domestic demand and supply but a fixed international price; while a quota stabilizes its domestic price if its international price is random but its domestic demand and supply functions are fixed. Results of the study reveal that under the conventional criterion of maximizing the expected value of net consumer's surplus, the optimum fixed tariff is superior to the optimum fixed quota. The result continues to hold if instead the maxi-min criterion is followed.