Emergence de la concurrence dans les chemins de fer en Allemagne et en France : quels enseignements tirer de la thèse (1914) de Walter EUCKEN sur l'émergence de la concurrence dans le transport maritime au tournant du siècle dernier ?

Following European guidelines, railway in Europe is experiencing today competition within a complicated structure mixing historical national operators and newcomers. Some countries of the European Union, for example Germany, are welcoming this development of competitive pressures. Some countries have difficulties to implement successfully the competitive framework of the European Union, for example France for regional railway passenger transport. One hundred years ago, the Ph-D of Walter Eucken (1914), one of the highly influential German Economist, described the difficult start of competition, national behaviors, cartels and elimination of newcomers in world maritime navigation. This work is considered as one of the best scholarly publications on transport economics before 1914. The aim of this paper is to draw lessons from Eucken?s analysis of emerging competition in maritime transportation and suggest a transfer of his precise and undoubtedly modern analysis to today?s rail developments and emerging competition.