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The Economics of Upgrading Seventy‐one Branch Rail Lines in Iowa
Author(s) -
Baumel C. Phillip,
Miller John J.,
Drinka Thomas P.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1239609
Subject(s) - abandonment (legal) , cost–benefit analysis , agricultural economics , economics , business , ecology , political science , law , biology
Proposed abandonment of branch rail lines in rural areas has stimulated considerable concern over the impact of abandonment on shippers, receivers, and rural communities. The purpose of this paper is to present estimates of the benefits and the costs of upgrading seventy‐one branch rail lines. A benefit‐cost analysis is used to compare the net benefits with the net costs of upgrading the rail lines. Separate models are utilized to estimate the benefits to grain shippers, fertilizer shippers, and shippers and receivers of all other products from upgrading the branch lines. Benefit‐cost ratios are presented for six alternative solutions.