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The Productivity of Australia’s Railways in the 20th Century

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  • Wills-Johnson, Nick

Abstract

This paper utilizes a unique, century-long dataset for the Australian railways to examine the productivity of Australia’s railways over the course of the 20th Century. The long timeframe allows one to trace out the paths of the many technical and policy innovations the industry has experienced. The aim of this analysis is to assist in framing a focus for future rail policy to ensure railways maintain a central role in the sustainable future of Australian land transport.

Suggested Citation

  • Wills-Johnson, Nick, 2008. "The Productivity of Australia’s Railways in the 20th Century," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 47(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ndjtrf:206911
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.206911
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/206911/files/1701-3086-2-PB.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nick Wills‐Johnson, 2008. "Separability and Subadditivity in Australian Railways," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(264), pages 95-108, March.
    2. Wilson, Wesley W, 1997. "Cost Savings and Productivity in the Railroad Industry," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 21-40, January.
    3. Brunker, Donald, 1992. "Total factor productivity growth in Australian national railways -- An application of shadow prices," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 449-459, December.
    4. John D. Bitzan & Theodore E. Keeler, 2003. "Productivity Growth and Some of Its Determinants in the Deregulated U.S. Railroad Industry," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(2), pages 232-253, October.
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    Keywords

    Productivity Analysis;

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