We describe a pair of subadditivity tests that can be used to evaluate the technological feasibility of separating a vertically integrated network monopoly into a common infrastructure component and competing operating components. We implement the tests with a Generalized McFadden cost function...

Since the publication by Williamson (1968) of his seminal paper on antitrust there has been a growing recognition by regulators of the need to assess trade-offs between merger-related efficiency gains and merger-induced increases in market power. This paper addresses that need by presenting a...

The aim of this paper is to look more carefully at the structure of rail rates that has evolved in the 25-year period since the Staggers Rail Act and to assess its impact on the railroad industry. The paper does this by investigating the relationship between car-type-specific marginal costs and...

Abstract Considering the US railroad industry, which is characterized by seven integrated firms that provide freight services on tracks they own and maintain, this paper provides a structural model that allows to evaluate the potential effects of opening the rail network to new firms on prices...

After deregulation in 1980, competitive pressures forced the large U.S. freight railroads to restructure. Much attention has focused on defensive (cost-cutting) restructuring: until 2004 employment was reduced by 60%, and railroads abandoned many of their lines. Less attention has been given to...

We investigate the restructuring of the US freight railroad industry after its deregulation. An econometric analysis of the joint effects of 'defensive' and 'strategic restructuring' reveals that, unsurprisingly, downsizing of the physical network has affected financial performance positively....