Future Directions in Railway Management and Regulation
14 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2007
Date Written: October 2006
Abstract
The economic regulation of Australia's railways under the aegis of National Competition Policy has exhibited a fairly standard neoclassical viewpoint of how a firm operates, with basic notions of pricing according to marginal cost and resulting economic efficiencies. The framework, however, misses some of the crucial elements of a railway; most notably the fact that competition happens on a transport network, and the incorporation into regulation of the unique nature of rail's place in logistics chains might lead to some different ideas about regulatory policy. Moreover, some careful consideration about what is being attempted by regulating railways suggests some alternative proposals the current format which are less intrusive. Both ideas have important consequences for the management of railways as well. This paper provides a brief sketch of future paths for research.
Keywords: Australian railways, regulation
JEL Classification: L92, L44
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation