Future challenges for transport infrastructure pricing in PPP arrangements

In this paper we report the conclusion of a research project dedicated to pricing regimes in public-private partnership contracts for the provision of transport infrastructure (Macário et al., 2009). Several elements have been brought to the bulk of knowledge that supports the design and implementation of public-private partnership in the transport sector. These developments have been achieved in the following domain:

•

Understand difficulties of price setting within the PPP environment, given the potential conflict of interest among the different parties engaged, go beyond the discussion of first best versus second-best price setting mechanisms.

•

Understand the role of government and regulators in the performance of a PPP.

•

Translate the issue of asymmetries of information between parties into a risk taking language.

•

Devise alternative contractual designs that will enable competitive price setting.

•

Understand that a structural element is missing to conciliate the views of the different stakeholders over a PPP: a bridge between infrastructure costs and charges.

The objective of this paper is to overview the main challenges ahead of transport infrastructure pricing, considering the current and likely future policies as well as the field constraints. Moreover, a proposal is formulated to overcome some of the current pitfalls associated to transport infrastructure pricing.     

Study on the preciseness of hot spot stress of web-stiffened cruciform welded joints derived from shell finite element analyses

A new simple and accurate shell FE-based structural Hot Spot Stress (HSS) determination method for web-stiffened cruciform joints has been proposed. Local stress of welded joints in full-scale bulk carrier (BC)’s lower stool models subject to bending and pressure loadings are examined. HSSs determined by the proposed method are compared with those derived by Lotsberg’s method and the conventional 0.5t-1.5t extrapolation. As results, following are found:

(1)

The local stress of full-scale BC lower stool models with various stool angle and plate thickness can be calculated accurately solely from shell FE results by means of the proposed method.

(2)

HSSs of welded joints in full-scale BC lower stool models subject to bending and pressure loadings derived by the proposed method show good agreement with the target HSSs determined from fine solid models. This demonstrates the validity of the proposed method for actual ship structures under the real load.

(3)

The excessive safety allowance of HSS determined by the conventional 0.5t-1.5t extrapolation can be reduced substantially by adopting Lotsberg’s method or our proposal. The proposed HSS determination method gives more accurate estimates compared to Lotsberg’s method under the conditions chosen, and the application range of the proposed method is equal to or wider than Lotsberg’s method.

     

The development of the TIGRIS XL model: A bottom-up approach to transport, land-use and the economy

The project appraisal method in the Netherlands distinguishes direct effects, indirect distribution effects and indirect generative effects. Transport models are generally available for calculating the benefits of transport projects to travellers as part of the direct effects. The TIGRIS XL model, a Land-Use and Transport Interaction model, adds indirect distribution effects for the housing and labour market, by modelling changes in the spatial distribution of jobs and residents. This paper describes the current TIGRIS XL model and how it can be applied in the evaluation of transport projects. It refers to work done with the TIGRIS XL model to improve the calculation of the direct benefits by applying the so-called ‘logsum’ method. Finally it discusses ideas on how to extend the TIGRIS XL model to address indirect generative effects as well.The current TIGRIS XL model, its integration with the National Model System (the standard tool for the Dutch government to analyse the effects on passenger transport) and basic design principles are the starting point of such an exploration. These design principles include:

•

an emphasis on detail, both spatial as well as in socio-economic segments, to account for differences in the availability of choice alternatives and in choice behaviour, and to provide impacts by region and socio-economic group;

•

the requirement that the relationships used rest on an empirical foundation.

The post-processing methods proposed on this paper for the calculation of the direct benefits and indirect generative effects are consistent with these design principles. To calculate the indirect generative effects, a post-processing module is proposed which transforms changes in travel times and land-use into agglomeration effects. These agglomeration effects combine several of the generative effects, like scale economies, an increasing variety of products, labour market matches and knowledge spill-over. The effects of changes in the agglomeration indicator on productivity can be estimated with existing data sources, as was demonstrated in the UK (Graham, 2005).     

Programming, optimal pricing and partnership contract for infrastructures in PPPs

The development of various forms of public-private partnerships for the financing, building and operating of public infrastructure has not fundamentally altered the economic calculations involved. This chapter examines to what extent it is necessary, however, to change the way that government uses socio-economic and financial evaluations, whether to optimise investment programming or pricing. Ensuring a coherent match between these two types of optimisation can provide a principle for determining the optimal programming price.We begin by showing that when projects are financed by both users (toll revenues) and taxpayers (subsidies), it is socially beneficial to plan these investments on the basis of the net present value (NPV) provided by each unit of public money invested. This NPV/subsidy ratio must obviously be higher than the public-funding scarcity coefficient or else the investment would destroy more wealth than it would produce.One of the ways of improving this ratio is also to optimise the toll level, since increasing it can lower the subsidy but has an adverse impact on the user surplus, it is essential to set the optimal toll.In the case of an approved project considered in isolation, we show that the optimal toll depends upon the public-funding scarcity coefficient. If there is no scarcity, the optimal toll is zero. As public-funding becomes scarcer, the optimal toll draws closer to the toll that optimises revenue.In the case of a programme of several projects subject to budget constraint, we show that the optimal toll no longer depends upon the public-funding scarcity coefficient and that there are several scenarios depending on the relative values of the maximum revenue and the total cost of the project:

−

when, whatever the toll, revenue can no longer cover over half of the cost, it is socially beneficial to choose not to levy any toll;

−

when there is a toll that covers the total cost, the operator may be left free to set it at the level he sees fit, with the issue of how the profits are to be shared between the franchisee and the franchisor being settled separately;

−

when the maximum revenue of the project falls between half and all of the total cost, the value of the toll that maximises the welfare function is lower than the revenue-maximising toll and must therefore be set for the private operator by government.

Thus, the partnership contract must be given a different content in these three cases of optimal pricing.

Preamble

Most of the theoretical studies devoted to optimising public investment programming and infrastructure pricing have, since the work of Jules Dupuit (1844), focused on the salient issues of the transport sector, even though this work was relevant to all sorts of public infrastructure. The analysis presented in this paper deals with transport economics, but in line with this tradition, is also applicable to any field in which public-funding is combined with commercial revenue. For example, the question of determining how the financing of an opera should be shared between taxpayers and opera-goers raises the same type of issues as the optimal combination of tolls and subsidies for financing a motorway project. This report will be focused on these issues. We shall see that certain precautions are called for in investment programming together with some new thinking on pricing principles.     

Hydrodynamic performance of multiple-row slotted breakwaters

This study examines the hydrodynamic performance of multiple-row vertical slotted breakwaters. We developed a mathematical model based on an eigenfunction expansion method and a least squares technique for Stokes second-order waves. The numerical results obtained for limiting cases of double-row and triple-row walls are in good agreement with results of previous studies and experimental results. Comparisons with experimental measurements of the reflection, transmission, and dissipation coefficients (C _R , C _T , and C _E ) for double-row walls show that the proposed mathematical model adequately reproduces most of the important features. We found that for double-row walls, the C _R increases with increasing wave number, kd, and with a decreasing permeable wall part, dm. The C _T follows the opposite trend. The C _E slowly increases with an increasing kd for lower kd values, reaches a maximum, and then decreases again. In addition, an increasing porosity of dm would significantly decrease the C _R , while increasing the C _T . At lower values of kd, a decreasing porosity increases the C _E , but for high values of kd, a decreasing porosity reduces the C _E . The numerical results indicate that, for triple-row walls, the effect of the arrangement of the chamber widths on hydrodynamic characteristics is not significant, except when kd<0.5. Double-row slotted breakwaters may exhibit a good wave-absorbing performance at kd>0.5, where by the horizontal wave force may be smaller than that of a single wall. On the other hand, the difference between double-row and triple-row vertical slotted breakwaters is marginal.     

Ship resistance of quadramaran with various hull position configurations

Multihull ships are widely used for sea transportation, and those with four hulls are known as quadramarans. Hull position configurations of a quadramaran include the diamond, tetra, and slice. In general, multihull vessels traveling at high speeds have better hydrodynamic efficiency than monohull ships. This study aims to identify possible effects of various quadramaran hull position configurations on ship resistance for hull dimensions of 2 m length, 0.21 m breadth, and 0.045 m thickness. We conducted a towing test in which we varied the hull spacing and speed at Fr values between 0.08 and 0.62 and measured the total resistance using a load cell transducer. The experimental results reveal that the lowest total resistance was achieved with a diamond quadramaran configuration at Fr = 0.1-0.6 and an effective interference factor of up to 0.35 with S/L = 3/10 and R/L = 1/2 at Fr = 0.62.     

Fatigue crack growth behaviour of A5083 series aluminium alloys and their welded joints

We investigated the difference in fatigue behaviour between the aluminium alloys A5083-O and A5083-H321, which are used as structural components in ships and high speed craft. We obtained S–N curves for the base materials and the welded joints made of A5083-O. The relationships between the fatigue crack propagation rates and the stress intensity factor ranges ΔK, ΔK _eff and ΔK _RPG (Toyosada et al. in Int J Fatigue 26(9):983–992, 2004) were determined. Additionally, the evolution of fatigue crack growth for the base materials and the welded joints made of A5083-O was measured. We also carried out numerical simulations of fatigue crack growth for both base metals and their welded joints made of A5083-O. The difference in fatigue crack growth behaviour for each alloy and the validity of the numerical simulations of fatigue crack growth based on the RPG stress criterion (Toyosada et al. 2004) in the base materials and their welded joints was investigated.     

Experimental study on reflection coefficient of curved perforated plate

A set of experiments is carried out in a towing tank to study the effects of the curvature of perforated plates on the wave reflection coefficient (C _r ). The curvature of a perforated plate can be changed by rotating a reference perforated plate aboutits origin according to the parabolic equation y=?x ². A plunger-type wave maker is used to generate regular waves. The reflection coefficients are calculated using Goda and Suzuki’s (1976) method. The results are compared with those of vertical or sloped passive wave absorbers. The comparison shows that a perforated plate with a curved profile is highly efficient in terms of reducing the wave reflection coefficient. A correlation is established to estimate the reflection coefficient of curved perforated plates as a function of both flow and geometry characteristics.     

Classification criterion of narrow/wide ice-resistant conical structures based on direct measurements

Ice-induced structural vibration generally decreases with an increase in structural width at the waterline. Definitions of wide/narrow ice-resistant conical structures, according to ice-induced vibration, are directly related to structure width, sea ice parameters, and clearing modes of broken ice. This paper proposes three clearing modes for broken ice against conical structures: complete clearing, temporary ice pile up, and ice pile up. In this paper, sea ice clearing modes and the formation requirements of dynamic ice force are analyzed to explore criteria determining wide/narrow ice-resistant conical structures. According to the direct measurement data of typical prototype structures, primary quantitative criterion of the ratio of a cone width at waterline (D) to sea ice thickness (h) is proposed. If the ratio is less than 30 (narrow conical structure), broken ice is completely cleared and a dynamic ice force is produced; however, if the ratio is larger than 50 (wide conical structure), the front stacking of broken ice or dynamic ice force will not occur.     

CFD-based method of determining form factor <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis> for different ship types and different drafts

The value of form factor k at different drafts is important in predicting full-scale total resistance and speed for different types of ships. In the ITTC community, most organizations predict form factor k using a low-speed model test. However, this method is problematic for ships with bulbous bows and transom. In this article, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based method is introduced to obtain k for different type of ships at different drafts, and a comparison is made between the CFD method and the model test. The results show that the CFD method produces reasonable k values. A grid generating method and turbulence model are briefly discussed in the context of obtaining a consistent k using CFD.     

Performance analysis of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack operated under marine environmental conditions

The marine environmental condition, especially NaCl, has been identified as one of the major sources of contamination on the performance of open cathode Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) system, when the power source is based on fuel cells for marine applications like submarines, navy ships etc., In the present paper, we have studied the performance of PEMFCs under the marine environment for a longer duration and also the recovery mechanism of the PEMFC power pack after contamination. It has been observed that the NaCl is a major contaminant for PEMFC, compared to NO _x and SO _x , which are major contaminants for fuel cells operating in the land regions. We have observed a performance loss of 60 % in PEMFC, when operated for 48 h, due to poisoning of PEMFC by NaCl vapours. The recovery of the stack is attempted by repeated water washing on the cathode side of the fuel cell, presuming that the salts get deposited only on the surface of the electrodes and the performance is easily recoverable. The recovery mechanisms are analysed by constant-current discharging operation and by modified experimental methods and are reported here. The performance vagaries in fuel cells due to sea water contamination is also analysed by linear fit and it is found that the rate of power increment after water wash is higher than the rate of power increment, around 11.5 W/10?h compared to normal environmental conditions, which is 4.1 W/10?h.     

Part II: Policy instruments for sustainable road transport

Without questioning the fact that to achieve efficiency emitters should pay for the true costs of their actions (a core principle of economic policies such as pollution taxes), we find sufficient evidence in the literature to demonstrate that many other policy instruments can be used in combination with taxes and permits to ensure that the transport needs of the present generation can be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet any needs of their own.The policies and policy aspects considered in this paper broadly fall into three categories: physical policies, soft policies, and knowledge policies. All three aim to bring about changes in consumers’ and firms’ behaviour, but in different ways. The first category includes policies with a physical infrastructure element: public transport, land use, walking and cycling, road construction, and freight transport. We also consider the particular challenges for mobility in developing countries, and how these may be addressed. Soft policies, on the other hand, are non-tangible aiming to bring about behavioural change by informing actors about the consequences of their transport choices, and potentially persuading them to change their behaviour. These measures include car sharing and car pooling, teleworking and teleshopping, eco-driving, as well as general information and advertising campaigns. Finally, knowledge policies emphasise the important role of investment in research and development for a sustainable model of mobility for the future.The main findings can be summarised as follows.

Physical policies

An increase in the use of public transport, combined with a decrease in the use of private cars, can reduce traffic congestion and, more importantly, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, as public transport generally causes lower CO₂ emissions per passenger kilometre than private cars. Public transport fares are subsidised in most places, which can be justified by economies of scale and by the fact that public transport can reduce total road transport externalities. London, Singapore, Portland and Curitiba are all examples of good practice at government level, having achieved reliable, frequent and integrated public transport.Policies to increase public transport use must be part of an integrated policy. Integrated policy refers to integration across different modes of transport, different government objectives (such as the economy, health and the environment), considering the needs of different social groups, and coordinating action between the relevant government institutions. There is evidence that a lack of coordination can jeopardise the achievement of policy objectives.A sustainable model for transport policy also requires integration with land-use policies. These may be somewhat limited within the bounds of existing cities, but as cities grow and new cities are built, urban planners must put more emphasis on land use for sustainable transport in order to reduce congestion and CO₂ emissions. Sustainable land-use policy can direct urban development towards a form that allows public transport as well as walking and cycling to be at the core of urban mobility.Walking and cycling, which improve general health and produce no tailpipe emissions, constitute an excellent alternative to motorised transport on short-distance trips within towns and cities. The policies which can incentivise walking and cycling include crime reduction to make streets safer, well-maintained and clean pavements, attractive street furniture, safe crossings with shorter waiting times, dedicated cycle paths, showers in offices, and lower speed limits, to name but a few.Road construction and expansion used to be seen as one of the most promising ways to reduce traffic congestion. However, in the mid-1990s, the issue was reassessed and it was found that building and expanding roads, increased, rather than decreased, congestion, and ultimately induced higher levels of travel demand. The reason for this is that the extra capacity reduces the general cost of travelling and the less expensive the travel, the more it will be demanded. Regarding freight modal shift, road transport is much more polluting than rail per tonne-km of goods transported and therefore a shift towards greater use of rail in freight transport is desirable. Inadequate infrastructure is the main obstacle preventing this modal shift taking place.Developing countries face great mobility challenges: rural areas are often extremely poorly connected to transport infrastructure, such that, in contrast to the situation in developed countries, the benefits of road construction can strongly outweigh the total costs (including environmental ones). The main challenge, however, is to develop a solution to the problems arising from the combination of urbanisation and motorisation. Integration of transport and land-use policy will be key to rising to this challenge.

Soft policies

Car sharing and car clubs can also potentially reduce CO₂ emissions, although the aggregate reduction in congestion and emissions has not been measured with an adequate degree of precision in the literature. Teleworking and teleshopping can potentially reduce congestion and also CO₂ emissions. However, the evidence for this reduction is rather mixed, as it is unclear whether these measures lead to overall reductions in road transport.Eco-driving campaigns aim to inform and educate drivers in order to induce them to drive in a fuel-efficient and thus environmentally friendly way. There seems to be some consensus in the literature that eco-driving could lead to reductions in CO₂ emissions of around 10 per cent.Information and education policies have often been advocated as instruments which may affect behavioural change. We find in this paper that these types of measures are necessary, but not sufficient for behavioural change. Advertising and marketing may go a long way in changing peoples’ behaviour. In California, for example, Kahn (2007) finds the “Prius” effect: the Toyota Prius is preferred by consumers relative to other similarly green vehicles, probably due to extensive marketing and celebrity endorsements. Family life changes are also found to trigger changes in behaviour ( [Goodwin, 1989] and [106]). People whose lives are being changed by some important development (birth of a child, retirement, etc) tend to respond more to changes in the relative attractiveness of different transport modes. Advertising campaigns promoting a modal shift towards public transport, for instance, may thus be more successful if targeted at people in the process of important life transitions.

Knowledge policies

Research and Development is crucial for developing sustainable and low-carbon transport for the future, and it is essential that governments provide incentives to undertake R&D, so that new low-carbon technologies in the transport sector can be demonstrated and applied at a large scale.Finally, we consider the issue of policy combination and integration. There is evidence that the combination and integration of policies can lead to positive side-effects and synergies. Policy integration is crucial in order to rise to the challenges we face in moving towards a sustainable mobility model. We conclude that classical economic policies may be successfully combined with a number of policy measures discussed in this paper in order to achieve sustainability in transport.     

A simple formulation for predicting the ultimate strength of ships

The aim of this study is to derive a simple analytical formula for predicting the ultimate collapse strength of a single- and double-hull ship under a vertical bending moment, and also to characterize the accuracy and applicability for earlier approximate formulations. It is known that a ship hull will reach the overall collapse state if both collapse of the compression flange and yielding of the tension flange occur. Side shells in the vicinity of the compression and the tension flanges will often fail also, but the material around the final neutral axis will remain in the elastic state. Based on this observation, a credible distribution of longitudinal stresses around the hull section at the overall collapse state is assumed, and an explicit analytical equation for calculating the hull ultimate strength is obtained. A comparison between the derived formula and existing expressions is made for largescale box girder models, a one-third-scale frigate hull model, and full-scale ship hulls.List of symbols A _B total sectional area of outer bottom - A _B total sectional area of inner bottom - A _D total sectional area of deck - A _S half-sectional area of all sides (including longitudinal bulkheads and inner sides) - a _s sectional area of a longitudinal stiffener with effective plating - b breadth of plate between longitudinal stiffeners - D hull depth - D _B height of double bottom - E Young's modulus - g neutral axis position above the base line in the sagging condition or below the deck in the hogging condition - H depth of hull section in linear elastic state - I _s moment of inertia of a longitudinal stiffener with effective plating - l length of a longitudinal stiffener between transverse beams - M _E elastic bending moment - M _p fully plastic bending moment of hull section - M _u ultimate bending moment capacity of hull section - M _uh ,M _us ultimate bending moment in hogging or sagging conditions - r radius of gyration of a longitudinal stiffener with effective plating [=(I _s /a _s )^1/2] - t plate thickness - Z elastic section modulus at the compression flange - Z _B ,Z _D elastic section modulus at bottom or deck - slenderness ratio of plate between stiffeners [= (b/t)(_y/E)^1/2] - slenderness ratio of a longitudinal stiffener with effective plating [=(l/r)(_y/E)^1/2] - _y yield strength of the material - _yB , _yB , _yD yield strength of outer bottom, inner bottom - _yS deck, or side - _u ultimate buckling strength of the compression flange - _uB , _uB , _uD ultimate buckling strength of outer bottom - _uS inner bottom, deck, or side     

The distribution of the benefits of waterfront reform

In this paper we introduce, for the first time, a methodology from the most recent literature of finance to reveal the duration of shipping cycles and then show the benefit of the use of this information to make more successful shipping loans. This is so as banks are willing to finance, during boom periods, shipping loans for new buildings but by this way ‘create’ oversupply and thus depress the freight market by their own actions. The information about cycles, especially their forecasting, is mostly important as shipping loans are based on project financing/cash flow financing, which means that ship revenue is of utmost importance. The Rescaled Range Analysis is applied here to 379 monthly freight trips—made stationary—between 1971 and 2002 (July), due to Hurst 1 Hurst, HE. 1950. Long-term storage capacity of reservoirs. April1950. pp.770–808. American Society of Civil Engineers. Paper No. 2447 [Google Scholar] and elaborated and popularized by Mandelbrot 2 Mandelbrot, BB. 1975. Stochastic models for the earth's relief, the shape and the fractal dimensions of the coastlines, and the number-area rule for islands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 1975, USA 72. pp.3825–3828. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. The most important effect, however, is that shipping freight series exhibit non-normality and long-run dependence rendering the use of random walk models such as GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity) problematic. Thus an adequate literature review is carried out with criticism against the models used. The cycles have been calculated as equal to 4.5 years and 2.25 years. This is almost compatible with the most recent paper of Stopford 3 Stopford, M. 21 September 2001. “Forecasting the dry bulk, tanker and container markets”. In Maritime Cyprus 21 September,  [Google Scholar]. The Hurst exponent was found equal to 0.93, alternating over the periods examined (0.65, 0.73, 0.62, 0.59 and 0.55) and indicating long-term persistence but seriously away from normal/random walk domain. Most studies have said the same using the Jarque--Bera test for normality but provided no alternative.     

Numerical analysis of surface piercing propeller in unsteady conditions and cupped effect on ventilation pattern of blade cross-section

The aim of this study is to calculate hydrodynamic performance and ventilation flow around wedge, 2D blade and 3D surface piercing propeller (SPP), using computational fluid dynamic based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method. First, numerical analyses for two-phase fluid flow around the wedge and 2D blade section (cupped and non-cupped) are presented. Flow ventilation, pressure distribution and forces are determined and compared with experimental data. Then, the method is extended to predict the hydrodynamic performance of propeller SPP-841B. The propeller exhibits a cupped blade. In the simulated configuration, SPP is one-third submerged (I = h/D = 0.33) and is working at various loadings with full ventilation occurring at low advance coefficient (J). The open water performance, pressure distribution, forces/moments and ventilation pattern on the SPP-841B model are obtained and compared with experimental data. The numerical results are in good agreement with experimental measurements, especially at high advance coefficient.     

Effect of pH on mechanical,physical and tribological properties of electroless Ni-P-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite deposits for marine applications

Successful co-deposition of fine particulate matter within an Electroless Nickel-Phosphorous (ENi-P) matrix is dependent on various factors like bath composition, particle compatibility with metallic matrix, bath reactivity (pH), particle size and their distribution. ENi-P deposits incorporating Al₂O₃/Alumina in a disperse phase have varied effects on properties and attributes like surface roughness (Ra), microhardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and surface morphology of the deposits obtained. This paper experimentally investigates the effect of alumina (1.55 g/L) on Ra, microhardness, surface morphology, deposition rate, wettability, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of ENi-P-Al₂O₃ composite deposits on mild steel substrates at bath pH 5, 7 and 9. Study reveals that optimum deposit parameters and deposition rates are achieved with bath pH. However, not much study has been undertaken concerning composite deposits obtained from higher bath pH or basic bath. This is attributable to the fact that at higher bath pH or alkaline baths, the bath gets unstable and eventually degrades or decomposes, thereby resulting in sub optimal or poor deposition. Hence, experimental investigations carried out by preparing suitable baths, operating under optimum conditions, and enabling successful composite deposition in acidic and alkaline baths have revealed that there is a significant improvement in the above mentioned properties of the as-deposited composite deposits, as the pH is increased from pH 5 to pH 9. This aspect can therefore be advantageously utilized for preparing various marine components like fasteners, nuts, bolts, washers, pipes, cables, components having relative motion etc.     

The rationality of conference pricing and output policies. Part 2

In Part 1 ^{* *}Maritime Studies and Management (1975) Vol 3, No. 2, pp. 103–111. of this article a background to the economics of conference operation was provided, and conference fleet planning and single voyage costs were discussed. This part of the paper will analyse the economic objectives of conferences and will consider the implications of ending the conference princing structure. Some recommendations are also offered.