Fed. gov¿t policymakers are interested in user fees as a means of financing new and existing services. User fees can be designed to reduce the burden on taxpayers to finance the portions of activities that provide benefits to identifiable users above and beyond what is normally provided to the public. User fees can promote economic efficiency and equity. However user fees must be well designed. This report studies how user fee design characteristics may influence the effectiveness of user fees. The author examined how the 4 key design and implementation characteristics of user fees -- how fees are set, collected, used, and reviewed -- may affect the economic efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and administrative burden of cost-based fees.