Are Combination Gas and Electric Utilities Multiproduct Natural Monopolies?

Gas and electric services are provided in some locations by a single firm, in others by two firms. The loss of competition inherent in single-firm provision can be justified by the presence of both economies of scope and product-specific economies of scale for each output in multiproduct production. The estimation of a multiproduct, hybrid, translog cost function shows no evidence of such economies at the mean combination utility output vector. Copyright 1987 by MIT Press.

The Food Stamp Program’s Elderly Nutrition Pilot Demonstration: Final Evaluation Design

Low participation rates in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by poor elderly individuals have been a persistent problem. Historically, no more than one-third of eligible elderly have participated in the FSP—a participation rate far lower than that of any other major demographic group. To address the low participation rates among the elderly, USDA is funding the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations—six separate pilot programs that are testing three alternative ways to increase elderly participation in the FSP. This report discusses the logistical considerations for evaluating the impacts of the six demonstrations. It presents an overview of the evaluation design, discusses alternative approaches for data collection, presents a schedule for the evaluation, and presents the expected costs of the evaluation

The Food Stamp Program’s Elderly Nutrition Pilot Demonstration: Initial Evaluation Design

Low participation rates in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by poor elderly individuals have been a persistent problem. Historically, no more than one-third of eligible elderly have participated in the FSP—a participation rate far lower than that of any other major demographic group. To address the low participation rates among the elderly, USDA is funding the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations—six separate pilot programs that are testing three alternative ways to increase elderly participation in the FSP. This report presents the design for evaluating the six demonstrations. The design includes an impact analysis to evaluate the effects of the demonstrations on FSP participation, average benefit levels, client satisfaction, and ongoing administrative costs. The design also includes a process analysis to describe the implementation process and to identify the effects of the demonstrations on stakeholders