Restructuring regulation of the rail industry for the public interest

Throughout the world, the rail industry historically has been one of the most extensively regulated of all sectors. Price, entry, exit, financial structure, accounting methods, vertical relations, and operating rules have all been subject to some form of government control. The public utility paradigm of government regulation has been applied on the assumption that the economic characteristics of the rail industry preclude competitive organization or the need for market responsiveness. In the past three decades, however, policymakers and economists have become increasingly critical of traditional regulation of the rail industry. It is generally accepted that in markets where rail carriers seek to meet demand, there is often effective competition, and that government restrictions on the structure and conduct of firms in this industry impose considerable costs on society. Misguided regulatory policies have been blamed for the misallocation of freight traffic among competing modes of transport, excess capacity, excessive operating costs, and poor investment decisions. Regulatory controls have also shouldered much of the blame for the poor financial condition of railroads, the deterioration of rail plant, the suppression and delay of cost-reducing innovations, and the mediocre quality of rail service. The authors suggest principles for restructuring railroad regulation - indeed, for restructuring the orientation of railroad entries - for the sake of public interest. Much can be learned, they contend, from applying the principles of industrial organization to analysis of the rail industry. To assess the implications of policies aimed at rate regulation or infrastructure, it is essential to understand the nature of technology, costs, and demand in the rail industry. Government's role in relation to market behavior should be based explicitly on the economic and technological realities of the railroad marketplace. The authors say that restructuring along the lines they suggest - putting more emphasis on marketing effectiveness - will result in a more profitable railway with a better chance of covering its costs for commercial services. Changing the basis for noncommercial services as they suggest will make those services more effective at fulfilling public policy objectives, will eliminate an insuperable drain on revenues that condemns rails to inadequate investment, and will eliminate cross-subsidies that make it difficult for rails to compete against other modes of transport.Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Decentralization,Enterprise Development&Reform,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets

Technological Solutions for Energy Security and Sustainability

This paper addresses the question: how can we minimize the expected time between now and the time when we achieve three measures of sustainability and security together -- independence from oil in cars and trucks, very deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and deep reductions in natural gas for electricity? Specific new technologies and metrics for progress are discussed, in context, linked to new information from IEEE, NSF, the State of the Future project and other sources

ECASTAR: Energy conservation. An assessment of systems, technologies and requirements

A methodology was presented for a systems approach to energy conservation actions and their potentials and impacts in the United States. Constraints affecting the approach were ranked, and the most important ones are the present economic and technical conditions. The following unresolved issues were identified: consumptive lifestyles vs. conservation ethic, environmental standards vs. energy conservation, capital availability, decentralization and vertical integration vs. centralization, fuel rich regions vs. fuel poor regions, supply vs. end use conservation, life cycle costing vs. initial cost, mandatory savings vs. voluntary savings, labor intensive vs. capital intensive, price control vs. free market. The following recommendations were made: provide action/impact assessment, establish regional energy centers, improve technology articulation with government, design total energy systems, utilize existing systems approach expertise

Coal, natural gas and oil markets after World War II: what's old, what' s new?

Power resources

Energy Conservation as Security

"Energy security" is usually defined as the guarantee of a stable and reliable supply of energy at reasonable prices. However, this definition is often misleading because it equates oil supply as the primary focus of a country's energy security considerations. As a developing country with a limited natural resource endowment China does not rely on oil alone. Instead China is one of the few economies in the world that still uses coal as one of its main sources of energy. Therefore, energy security in China is more comprehensive because it must consider the supply of coal, gas, electricity and nuclear energy along with oil imports

Climate Justice and Women's Rights: A Guide to Supporting Grassroots Women's Action

This Guide emerged from a "Summit on Women and Climate" in Bali, Indonesia, and aims to increase timely and appropriate funding for worldwide climate action initiatives led by women and their communities. The Guide is not a comprehensive resource on climate change or women's rights. Instead, it addresses an urgent need within the funding community and offers concrete, practical guidance that: Orients grantmakers to the importance of funding at the intersection of climate justice and women's rights.Draws lessons from specific examples of funding for women's climate change initiatives.Provides guidance on how funders can collaborate to direct timely and appropriate funding to women and their communities.Advocates for bringing women's voices into climate change policy discussions.Highlights the strong impact that small (less than $10,000) to medium-sized ($10,000-$50,000) grants can make in women-organized efforts to address climate change at the community level, across geographic boundaries and in global climate policy. Grassroots women's climate activism is becoming increasingly critical to women's collective and individual rights, freedom and survival

Quilpie to Brisbane, moving cattle by rail freight: the regular reliable and responsive services challenge

Agricultural production in Queensland is spread over a vast area and is very diverse. The coastline is 7,000 km and the land area is 1.853 million km2. Livestock travel vast distances from the outback to the processing and export ports in south east Queensland. In the past rail was used for long haul point to point transportation of livestock, but over recent years there has been a decline in use of rail. This study examines the Western rail system, rail infrastructure and associated facilities. We explore the decline in the use of rail for the transport of cattle; we assess what conditions would enable the revival of trains should they be considered a viable option; and we discuss how hybrid models of trains and trucks could provide the optimum solutions for the future of livestock transport

Electric utilities, fuel use, and responsiveness to fuel prices

This research tests the impact of changes in fuel price to explain fuel use by electric utilities. We employ a three-stage least squares model that explains changes in fuel use as a function of changes in three fuel prices. This model is repeated across sub-samples of data aggregated at the plant level and operating holding company level. We expect that plants and holding companies reduce fuel use when fuel prices rise. Several fuel substitution effects within and across plants and holding companies are demonstrated, as well as several frictions. At the plant level, higher prices of natural gas lead to less natural gas consumption, less coal consumption, and more fuel oil consumption. At the operating holding company level, results demonstrate the inelasticity of coal use and the increases of natural gas in response to higher coal prices. Subsamples demonstrate heterogeneity of results across different plants. Results emphasize that technological, market, and regulatory frictions may hinder the performance of energy policies

Fossil fuels, global warming and democracy: a report from a scene of the collision

What happens to democracy when the fossil fuel industry collides with global warming? Introduction Democracy is caught in a collision between two forces: the need to respond to global warming by cutting carbon emissions, and the demands of the fossil fuel industry to increase carbon use and production. This is a slow motion collision that will take decades to conclude, though its ending seems inevitable: coal, and then oil and natural gas, will be replaced by more sustainable energy sources, but only after great damage to the environment. In this paper I explore the question, What happens to democracy when the fossil fuel industry collides with global warming? This collision is already making its marks on democratic practices. The fossil fuel industry is using every tool it can to preserve its wealth and power by pressuring governments, political parties, universities, regulators, courts, and voters. It is a process of tough, aggressive, and sophisticated politics that ultimately depends on denying the evidence that global warming poses a danger that needs to be urgently confronted. Without a theoretical framework to focus this inquiry, it could easily produce little more than a list of anecdotes about politics and influence. The value of good theory is that it reveals the patterns in the evidence, showing how the disparate pieces are connected to one another, and to larger historical, social, and economic factors. In this paper, I drew theory from (among others) Valerie Bunce, Timothy Mitchell, and most importantly Terry Lynn Karl. I use the work of these scholars to focus on the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta provides an example of what can happen to democracy in places where fossil fuel production predominates. From time-to-time I link the paper to Australia, which depends even more than Canada on mineral extraction, and which is on the burning edge of global warming. This paper should be read as a warning to people everywhere who are concerned about fossil fuel dependence, global warming, and democracy. Those who value democracy must ask, Can democracy as we know it survive global warming