@inbook{d3d5202bef5d40fdbf10fd1778e70b0e,
title = "On the Complexity of the Highway Pricing Problem.",
abstract = "The highway pricing problem asks for prices to be determined for segments of a single highway such as to maximize the revenue obtainable from a given set of customers with known valuations. The problem is NP-hard and a recent quasi-PTAS suggests that a PTAS might be in reach. Yet, so far it has resisted any attempt for constant-factor approximation algorithms. We relate the tractability of the problem to structural properties of customers' valuations. We show that the problem becomes NP-hard as soon as the average valuations of customers are not; homogeneous, even under further restrictions such as monotonicity. Moreover, we derive an efficient; approximation algorithm, parameterized along the inhomogeneity of customers' valuations. Finally, we discuss extensions of our results that go beyond the highway pricing problem.",
author = "A. Grigoriev and {van Loon}, J. and M.J. Uetz",
year = "2010",
month = jan,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/978-3-642-11266-9_39",
language = "English",
series = "Lecture Notes in Computer Science",
publisher = "Springer",
number = "5901",
pages = "465--476",
editor = "Leeuwen, {J. van}",
booktitle = "Theory and Practice of Computer Science",
address = "United States",
}