TY  - JOUR
AU  - Friedlaender,Ann F.
AU  - Berndt,Ernst R.
AU  - Chiang,Judy Shaw-Er Wang
AU  - Showalter,Mark
AU  - Vellturo,Christopher A.
TI  - Rail Costs and Capital Adjustments in a Quasi-Regulated Environment
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3841
PY  - 1991
Y2  - September 1991
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3841
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3841.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Ernst R. Berndt
MIT Sloan School of Management
100 Main Street, E62-518
Cambridge, MA 02142
Tel: 617/253-2665
Fax: 617-227-0880
E-Mail: eberndt@mit.edu

Mark Showalter
Mark H. Showalter
179 FOB
Department of Economics
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT  84602
Tel: 801-422-4645
E-Mail: mhs@byu.edu
AB  - This paper reports on results obtained from the estimation of a rail cost function using a pooled-time series, cross section of Class I railroads for the period 1974-1986. An analysis is performed of short-run and long-run returns to scale, the extent of capital disequilibrium, and adjustments to way and structures capital in the heavily regulated and quasi-regulated environments before and after the passage of the Staggers Act in 1980. In general, it is found that there is considerable overcapitalization in the rail industry and that this has persisted in spite of the regulatory freedom provided by the Staggers Act.
ER  -