Optimal water tariffs for domestic, agricultural and industrial use
研究供水商在利润、消费者福利和未来供水保障目标下，通过领导者-追随者微分博弈模型比较线性定价与阶梯定价，发现线性定价始终更优。
Abstract Consider a water supplier who determines sales rates with the goals of maximizing profits, protecting consumer welfare, and ensuring adequate future water supplies. Buyers are differentiated and can use the water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. We propose a leader-follower finite-horizon differential game. The leader (the water supplier) determines the selling price and the followers (consumers) react by requesting their optimal amount of water. We calculate a feedback Stackelberg equilibrium assuming that all user demand is satisfied (interior equilibrium). We compare two different tariff schemes: linear tariffs (the price paid is a multiple of the volume of water purchased), and increasing block tariffs (the unit price is lower for quantities of water that do not exceed a fixed threshold). We show that block pricing is never optimal and linear pricing is always preferred.