Can privatization of US highways improve motorists' welfare?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Winston, Clifford; Yan, Jia
• 署名单位: Brookings Institution; Washington State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.01.005
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 993-1005
• 关键词: Highway privatization; preference heterogeneity; mixed logit

摘要

We assess the welfare effects of highway privatization accounting for government's behavior in setting the sale price, firms' strategic behavior in setting tolls, and motorists' heterogeneous preferences for speedy and reliable travel. We find motorists are able to benefit from privatization by negotiating tolls with private providers that increase their consumer surplus. Surprisingly, we find that by obtaining tolls and service that align with their varying preferences, motorists may be better off negotiating with a monopolist than with duopoly providers or under public-private competition. Toll regulation may be counterproductive because it is likely to treat motorists as homogeneous. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.