ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORTATION: A TWENTY-FIVE YEAR SURVEY

This article presents retrospective and prospective views of transportation economics. Early transportation economics is examined, and progress made in microeconomic issues in freight transportation are noted: (1) the output unit; (2) economies of scale; (3) an efficient rate structure; (4) the economic consequences of regulation; and (5) statistics and mathematics. The article then points out the areas for emphasis and research in the future: (1) the reduced regulation of most of the transportation industries; (2) the need to improve the benefit-cost analysis as applied to transport investments or improvements financed by governments; (3) research on the estimation of cost and demand functions in all forms of transportation; (4) analysis of economic policy toward transportation; 5) the economics of safety (with emphasis on hazardous materials transportation), including considerations of risk, likelihood of accidents, costs, etc.; and (6) the issue of mergers, particularly intramodal mergers and intermodal mergers, need to be carefully examined. Many more future areas of research will emerge including, for example, the trend toward privatization, the issue of user charges, and the constant monitoring of new transport technologies.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1588960
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Transportation and Logistics

  1816 Norris Place
  Louisville, KY  United States  40205
• Authors:
  • WILSON, G W
• Publication Date: 1986

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 33-44
• Serial:
  • Transportation Journal
  • Volume: 26
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Society of Transportation and Logistics
  • ISSN: 0041-1612
  • Serial URL: https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/transportation-journal

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Economic analysis; Economics; Economies of scale; Freight transportation; Future; Hazardous materials; Hazards; Improvements; Investments; Private enterprise; Rates; Regulations; Research; Risk assessment; Safety; Technological innovations; Transportation; Transportation policy; User charges
• Uncontrolled Terms: Future research
• Old TRIS Terms: Transportation rates; Transportation research
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Law; Planning and Forecasting; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Transportation (General); I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00460127
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 28 2004 4:47AM