Download eBook for Free
Full Document
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 0.6 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Summary Only
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 0.1 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) maintains a large array of national-class aeronautics testing capabilities, but there has been an overall downward trend in the use of its wind-tunnel test facilities. Fiscal pressures have increased incentives to cut costs and create additional sources of revenue to sustain and expand the testing capabilities that NASA offers.
The authors explore six potential approaches to pricing the use of these facilities: (1) marginal cost pricing, (2) two-part pricing with full cost recovery, (3) two-part pricing with subsidization, (4) average cost pricing, (5) average cost pricing with subsidization, and (6) no charge. Evaluating each approach against three criteria — efficiency, fiscal impact, and fairness — the authors find that the no-charge policy performs poorly across the board and that no one strategy performs well across all three criteria. However, each of the first five options performs well against at least one criterion.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
An Illustrative Model
Chapter Three
Comparing Alternative Methods for Pricing Wind Tunnels
Chapter Four
Discussion
Research conducted by
This report was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was conducted jointly in the RAND Transportation, Space, and Technology Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment and the Acquisition and Technology Policy Center, part of the RAND National Defense Research Institute.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Technical report series. RAND technical reports may include research findings on a specific topic that is limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; present discussions of the methodology employed in research; provide literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; or deliver preliminary findings. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.