Modernizing U.S. Freight Rail Regulation

Richard Schmalensee and Wesley Wilson

Review of Industrial Organization, 2016, vol. 49, issue 2, No 2, 133-159

Abstract: Abstract By 1970, regulation of railroads under the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 had resulted in an industry that was in financial ruin and unresponsive to changes in the marketplace. Subsequent legislation, which culminated in the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, was intended to resurrect the industry and did so. A Congressionally-mandated National Academy of Sciences study examined trends in the industry and the current regulatory regime and offered a number of recommendations, arguing that modernization can yield substantial benefits by modernizing what has become an outdated and ineffective system. This paper summaries some of the main findings of that study.

Keywords: Railroad regulation; Staggers act; Captive shippers; Revenue adequacy; Arbitration; Mergers; Rates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L12 L13 L51 L9 L92 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11151-016-9515-2

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