The Staggers Act, 30 Years Later
4 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2011 Last revised: 19 Feb 2013
Date Written: January 20, 2011
Abstract
Thirty years ago, our paper entitled "The High Cost of Regulating U.S. Railroads" appeared in this journal. At the time, the Staggers Act had just been signed into law. Our paper provided an analysis of the U.S. railroad industry’s performance for the generation immediately preceding the legislation. We also took the opportunity to speculate about the "deregulated" railroad industry appearing on the U.S. horizon. More recently, we were part of the project team that conducted a study of competition in the U.S. freight railroad industry over the period 1987-2008. Using information gleaned from that research, in this article we revisit our earlier paper and review our analysis and predictions.
Keywords: Staggers Act, regulatory law, deregulation, U.S. railroads, U.S. transportation, federal regulation, analysis
JEL Classification: L90, L91, L92, L98
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation