We examine how universal service provisions and price restrictions across markets impact strategic entry and pricing. We develop a simple multi-market model with an oligopolistic (profitable) urban market and entry auctions for (unprofitable) rural service. Cross-market price restrictions induce a firm operating in both markets to become a 'softer' competitor, thus placing the firm at a strategic disadvantage. When we account for entry incentives and strategic bidding, the downstream strategic disadvantage becomes advantageous, leading to higher prices and profits. Price restrictions may also put outside firms, even relatively inefficient ones, at a strategic advantage.

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Banking has been a fertile area for management science applications, as is evident from the review provided in this paper. The relevant management science models are discussed in terms of the areas of bank management for which they were intended. Under dynamic balance sheet management (i.e., internal bank financial planning) we consider forecasting techniques, simulation models and optimization models. Other areas of banking included are bond portfolio management, bank operations, corporate services, bank marketing and management of the loan portfolio. The authors provide an evaluation of the applicability of management science models in practice, discuss the extent to which some have been implemented and consider the philosophy of using management science models in banking.finance, financial institutions: banks