5 Table 3': Estlmate o~ user's expe~ses in Clectricity, gas and phone se:rnces in January 1998 ..

|·'Income·':<br>Decile|Inrome<br>per<br>capita<br>(US$)|Household<br>Average<br>·perPerson .|Households'<br>totalIncome<br><sup>..(US$)..</sup>|Rateof<br>Unemployment<br>(%)|Monthly<br>Fixed<br>charges<br>(US$)|.:Monthly<br>·Variable<br>Charges<br>(US$) .|Total|Total<br>Expensesas<br>%ofTotal<br>Income|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|1|'56.8|5.25.|298.06|40.7<br>.|29.04.»|19.37|. 48.41|16.2%|
|2<br>|~107.7.|·4.31<br>.,|464.11|28.8|29.04|27.85|56.88|12.3%|
|3|148.4 .|3.31|491.33|21.3|29.04|29.48.|58.51|11.9%|
|4|186.l|3.6<br><|669.95".|22.6|29.16|33.50|62.66|9.4%|
|;5|233.6|3.28|766.25|16.6|30.58|,<sup>34.48.</sup>|65.06|8.5%|
|6|296.0|2.94|870.32|15.4|32.52|34.81|67.33|7.7%|
|_T_|372.0.|3.07|1142.16<br>|;'<br>12.2|34.80|39.98.|74.78|6.5%|
|8|486.0.|2.78<|1351.06|8:3|37.06.|40.53|77.59|5.7%|
|_9_|684.5|2.69|1841.27|6.2|42.04.|46.03|88.07|4.8%|
|lO|1 383.7|2.25|3113.37|6~1|49.76.|62.27|112.03|3.6%|
|N.B.: Author<br>gas:$6.95;p<br>,.<br>\,2.. Fina<br>U<br>would b<br>competit<br>.paythe<br>groupof<br>sectors.<br>structure|s' calculatioμ<br>hone:$16.45<br>ncing U<br>niversal<br>e willin<br>ive mark<br>same pri<br> users.<br>Inthis<br>in whic|s basedondata p<br>;water and sanita<br>.~·<br>SO.<br>service obl<br>g to charge<br>et. USO de<br>ceasthe ·re<br>Something<br>case, the pr<br>h the compa|rovided by Gaspari<br>tion variesperdeci<br>igation entail<br> ifit were .<br>termines tha<br>st. The ·reg<br>similar.happe<br>ice could be<br>nyorcompan|ni(1999).AsofJanuary<br>le from$0.73to$24.05.<br>s providing the<br>a monopoly,o<br>t. consumers wh<br>ulated price will<br>ns, although fo<br>above their pay<br>ies operate.|1998,monthly<br> <br>service at <br>revenif <br>ose supply<br>necessaril<br>r different<br>ment capa|·fixed charges ar<br>a.lower pri<br>it develope<br>is more co<br>y be below<br>reasons, w<br>city, indep<br>.|easfollows:<br>ce than t<br>d its act<br>stlythan<br>those c<br>ith the lo<br>endentof|~~..~~<br>electnc1ty:$2.32;<br>·<br>he company<br>ivities tn a<br> the average<br>osts for this<br>wer-income<br> the market|

In both cases,· USO ·entails facing costs.<sup>6</sup> · How can the ·supply of services to. these consumers be financed at regulated pricesr In principle, there are four financing systems for the Universal Service Obligation:· · ·· ,, · ·

- Direct transfers either to consumers or through company disbursements,

- Establishment of a fund,

- Cross-subsidies among consumers and/or among products, and

- Adjustability of the ,duration of the ~onces~ion.

# a) _Direct transfers.··_

.. ,. .

· · ·In te.rms . of ~oriomic efficiency, direct transfers to. consumers are the b~st option because the relative prices ofthe economy are not altered. Each one pays the pertinent price., However, this system has two in~onv~niencesthat make it impractical. First, it is difficult for the regU:lator to know lhe: .. exact payment. capacity. of each ag~nt or ·the real .production cost of the company for each . . . ' ' ' . ' ' . .

- . '~

> 6 If the price~m0ve away from the op~rtunlty co~ts ~f the resouri:es .ilsed in production - marginal costs - a social cost also appears that may not be discriinui~tory internalized by pric~. ·the company but will ' · _1_ ·• • , , be • • paid by · society. as a whole. ' • See • _:_ Bums · (1995) • for an introduction · ' • to • these issues · • • in the framework • of