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Railroads and Land Grant Policy
A Study in Government Intervention
- 1st Edition - January 28, 1982
- Author: Lloyd J. Mercer
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 5 7 9 9 - 0
Railroads and Land Grant Policy: A Study in Government Intervention attempts to replace a major part of the railroad land grant legend (according to which the granting of federal… Read more
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Request a sales quoteRailroads and Land Grant Policy: A Study in Government Intervention attempts to replace a major part of the railroad land grant legend (according to which the granting of federal and state land to private railroad firms benefitted these firms more than it contributed to society as a whole) with some real numbers and analysis. An attempt is made to put the income and wealth distribution impact of the railroad land grants in perspective, but thorough analysis of this issue is not undertaken. The primary question this study does try to illuminate is that of the effect of the railroad land grants on economic efficiency. This emphasis was chosen because it seems clear that improvement of economic efficiency was the major goal that Congress and various state legislatures sought to attain, and thus the examination of economic efficiency questions is fundamental to evaluation of railroad land grant policy. This study will not completely replace the railroad land grant legend (because much is not covered here), but it does represent a considerable diminution of that legend.
List of FiguresList of TablesPreface1. Introduction Land Grants: Government Intervention in the Market Subsidy, Profitability, and Railroad Investment The Railroad Land Grants Historiography of the Land Grants Objectives of the Study2. Economic Issues in Railroad Land Grant Policy Building Ahead of Demand External Economies from Railroad Operation Railroads as Natural Monopolies Capital Market Imperfections Hypotheses of the Land Grant Advocates Railroad Land Grants and the Distribution of Income Summary3. Building the Land Grant Railroads The Central Pacific System The Union Pacific System The Texas and Pacific System The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe System The Northern Pacific System The Great Northern Railway System The Canadian Pacific System Summary4. Private Rates of Return Subsidy Unnecessary Subsidy Necessary but Inadequate Subsidy Necessary and Adequate Summary5. Social Rates of Return Intraregional Benefits Interregional Benefits Passenger Benefits The Social Returns Stream Tests of Hypotheses B1 and B26. Building Ahead of Demand Test of the Fishlow Hypothesis for the Land Grant Systems Estimation of Investment Demand Capacity Utilization The Overbuilding Hypothesis Building Ahead of Demand7 Summary Economic Rationality of Land Grant Policy Building Ahead of Demand Evaluation of the Railroad Land GrantsAppendix A: Investment ExpenditureAppendix B: Capital EarningsAppendix C: Net Land Grant RevenueAppendix D: Zero Rent PerimetersAppendix E: Intraregional BenefitsAppendix F: Interregional BenefitsAppendix G: Passenger BenefitsAppendix H: Loan Subsidy CostAppendix I: Capital StocksIndex
- No. of pages: 284
- Language: English
- Edition: 1
- Published: January 28, 1982
- Imprint: Academic Press
- eBook ISBN: 9781483257990
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