Economics of Transportation [antikvár]

This is a generál treatment of intercity transportation. As a college text it is designed for either a semester or full-year course in the economics of transportation. For many years the basic course in this field was essentially a course in regulation and largely railroad regulation at that. The economic aspects of transportation too often had been treated as incidental to and a reflection of the task of regulation. Today, the economics of transportation assumes a new significance as a study of the function of transportation in the structure and activity of the economic system and of social organization as a whole. The "functional" approach is primarily concerned with the place of transportation in the flow of Utilities and the distribution of resources in the economic system. This approach, introduced in the first edition of this book in 1950, was therefore a marked departure from the conventional approach. The authors sought to prepare an economics of transportation that would be most meaningful in this half of the twentieth century. Among social scientists there is a rising tide of interest in the economics of régiónál development and in the importance of spatial relations in determining not only the extent of markets and scale of production but alsó the social and political relationships in metropolitan areas, regions, and nations. Furthermore, in the interest of business efficiency, students of business organization and marketing give more attention to the planning of exact location of plants and to the control of the flow of products in physical distribution. If the study of transportation economics is to fit into these analyses, a basic approach is necessary. The authors believe that this calls for substantial treatment directed to an understanding of the function of transportation, how it has contributed to the evolution of the modern economic and social order, the nature of the demand for and supply of transportation, the development of transport facilities, services, and rate structures in response to economic, social, and political influences, and the considerations involved in the evolution of an integrated transportation service. The authors are concerned with government regulation, but more with the economic factors which shape it and its impact on the economy than with the ramifications of the policy itself. Such an approach calls for an "across the board" treatment of the several modes of transportation in the analysis of transportation development, service, and rates. Growing competition among the modes called for analysis of their relative fitness to meet economic and social needs. This proved a difficult task to accomplish. Another objective was to write a well-organized and readable volume. The response to this effort has been encouraging. Recent trends in adoptions of the first edition and the unusual interest expressed in this new edition reflect a rapidly growing acceptance of this approach and method of treatment. The reaction abroad and the favorable reception of the first edition of Economics of Transportation on the part of students of other countries serves to confirm the universal validity of the functional approach. ix