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Can privatization of U.S. highways improve motorists' welfare?

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  • Winston, Clifford
  • Yan, Jia
Abstract
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.

Suggested Citation

  • Winston, Clifford & Yan, Jia, 2011. "Can privatization of U.S. highways improve motorists' welfare?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 993-1005.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:95:y:2011:i:7:p:993-1005
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.01.005
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    Cited by:

    1. Rouhani, Omid M. & Geddes, R. Richard & Gao, H. Oliver & Bel, Germà, 2016. "Social welfare analysis of investment public–private partnership approaches for transportation projects," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 86-103.
    2. Leal, Mariel & Garcia, Arturo & Lee, Sang-Ho, 2020. "Strategic CSR and merger in multiproduct mixed markets with state-holding corporation," MPRA Paper 102351, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Aug 2020.
    3. Paul Koster & Hans Koster, 2013. "Commuters' Preferences for Fast and Reliable Travel," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-075/VIII, Tinbergen Institute, revised 30 Apr 2015.
    4. van den Berg, Vincent A.C., 2013. "Serial private infrastructures," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 186-202.
    5. Huang, Naqun & Lien, Jaimie W. & Zheng, Jie, 2023. "To acquire or compete? Government intervention in transportation under different route structures," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    6. Paul Koster & Hans Koster, 2013. "Analysing Heterogeneity in the Value of Travel Time and Reliability: A Semiparametric Estimation Approach," ERSA conference papers ersa13p1032, European Regional Science Association.
    7. van den Berg, Vincent A.C. & Verhoef, Erik T., 2012. "Is the travel time of private roads too short, too long, or just right?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 971-983.
    8. Omid M. Rouhani & H. Oliver Gao, 2016. "Evaluating Various Road Ownership Structures and Potential Competition on an Urban Road Network," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1019-1042, December.
    9. Yan, Jia & Winston, Clifford, 2014. "Can private airport competition improve runway pricing? The case of San Francisco Bay area airports," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 146-157.
    10. Meng, Qiang & Lu, Zhaoyang, 2017. "Quantitative analyses of highway franchising under build-operate-transfer scheme: Critical review and future research directions," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 105-123.
    11. Koster, Paul R. & Koster, Hans R.A., 2015. "Commuters’ preferences for fast and reliable travel: A semi-parametric estimation approach," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 289-301.
    12. Lee, J.F. Jennifer & Kwok, Peter K. & Williams, Jeffrey, 2014. "Heterogeneity among motorists in traffic-congested areas in southern California," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 281-293.
    13. Li, Shuai & Cai, Jiannan & Cai, Hubo, 2019. "Infrastructure privatization analysis: A public-private duopoly game," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 80-87.
    14. Rouhani, Omid M. & Niemeier, Debbie & Knittel, Christopher R. & Madani, Kaveh, 2013. "Integrated modeling framework for leasing urban roads: A case study of Fresno, California," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-30.
    15. Fu, Xinying & van den Berg, Vincent A.C. & Verhoef, Erik T., 2018. "Private road supply in networks with heterogeneous users," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 430-443.
    16. Winston, Clifford & Mannering, Fred, 2014. "Implementing technology to improve public highway performance: A leapfrog technology from the private sector is going to be necessary," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 158-165.
    17. Chen, Jiandong & Yu, Jie & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhou, Ziqi, 2023. "Debt financing and maintenance expenditure: Theory and evidence on government-operated toll roads in China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    18. Leal, Mariel & García, Arturo & Lee, Sang-Ho, 2021. "Strategic CSR and merger decisions in multiproduct mixed markets with state-holding corporation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 319-333.
    19. Pekka Levi�kangas & Tuomo Kinnunen & Aki Aapaoja, 2016. "Infrastructure public-private partnership project ecosystem - financial and economic positioning of stakeholders," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 221-236, February.
    20. M. Rouhani, Omid, 2014. "Road pricing: An overview," MPRA Paper 59662, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Keita Yamane, 2020. "Market Structure, Competition, and Optimal Privatization: a Linear Supply Function Approach," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 605-615, September.

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