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Do Economists Reach a Conclusion On Rail Transit?

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Author Info
Ted Balaker and Cecilia Joung Kim ()
Abstract

In the United States, the public debate over urban rail projects is complicated by the lack of agreement on goals. Supporters offer a wide variety of justifications to build and expand rail transit. If one focuses on the judgments of economists, the list of justifications shrinks considerably, but we are still left with a bundle of goals. Compared to other justifications, economists appear to be somewhat optimistic about rail transit’s impact on local economic development, but less optimistic about rail’s ability to achieve environmental improvement and serve the transit-dependent poor. Economists seem quite pessimistic about rail’s ability to achieve key transportation goals like reducing congestion. Economists often attribute rail’s political success to rent-seeking and romantic political factors. Of those economists who offer a big-picture view, there appears to be wide, though not unanimous, agreement that rail’s costs exceed its benefits. And it seems that almost all economists who write about rail agree that various demographic features, such as suburbanization, the declining influence of central business districts, and increasing wealth will make it increasingly difficult to design successful rail systems.

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Article provided by Atlas Economic Research Foundation in its journal Econ Journal Watch.

Volume (Year): 3 (2006)
Issue (Month): 3 (September)
Pages: 551-602
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Handle: RePEc:ejw:volone:2006551-602

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Related research
Keywords: rail transit; transportation; economists;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
R4 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Transportation Systems
D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
B0 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Molly D. Castelazo & Thomas A. Garrett, 2004. "Light rail: boon or boondoggle?," The Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jul, pages 12-13. [Downloadable!]
  2. Kain, John F, 1992. "The Use of Straw Men in the Economic Evaluation of Rail Transport Projects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 487-93, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Bowes, David R. & Ihlanfeldt, Keith R., 2001. "Identifying the Impacts of Rail Transit Stations on Residential Property Values," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 1-25, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Nelson, Peter & Bagliano, Andrew & Harrington, Winston & Safirova, Elena & Lipman, Abram, 2006. "Transit in Washington, D.C.: Current Benefits and Optimal Level of Provision," Discussion Papers dp-06-21, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Adrian T. Moore and Ted Balaker, 2006. "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Taxi Deregulation?," Econ Journal Watch, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, vol. 3(2), pages 109-132, May. [Downloadable!]
  6. Winston, Clifford & Maheshri, Vikram, 2007. "On the social desirability of urban rail transit systems," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 362-382, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. McFadden, Daniel, 1974. "The measurement of urban travel demand," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 303-328, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Adam Zaretsky, 1994. "Riding the rails: a look at light rail transit," The Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Oct, pages 4-9.
  9. John F. Kain, 1996. "Cost-Effective Alternatives to Atlanta's Costly Rail Rapid Transit System," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1762, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
  10. Klein, Daniel, 2004. "The People’s Romance: Why People Love Government (as much as they do)," Ratio Working Papers 31, The Ratio Institute, revised 11 May 2005. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stern, Charlotta & Klein, Daniel B., 2006. "Is There a Free-Market Economist in the House? The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members," Working Paper Series 6/2006, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 2008. "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-Events?," Working Papers 0818, International Association of Sports Economists. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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