Transport Infrastructure in Time, Scope and Scale (eBook)

Björn Hasselgren is a guest researcher in the Economic History Department of Uppsala University, Sweden and has a PhD in planning and decision analysis from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He has extensive experience from senior positions in the transport infrastructure sector and the Sveriges Riksbank.

Contents 6
List of Figures 8
Introduction 10
1 Government Ownership of Roads and Railroads—Why? 15
1.1The Traditional Arguments for Government Intervention and the Challenges to These Arguments 15
References 21
2 Theoretical Background 23
2.1Methods, Sources, and the Research Process 23
2.1.1Methods and Sources 23
2.1.2The Research Process behind this Book 27
2.2Some Perspectives on Transport Infrastructure 29
2.2.1The Transport System—Functions and Temporal Perspectives 29
2.2.2Functional Roles and Spatial Dimensions 32
References 36
3 Economic Theory and Transport Infrastructure 38
3.1Introduction 38
3.2Neoclassical Theories and Welfare Economics 45
3.2.1Natural Monopoly Theory 45
3.2.2A Dichotomy of Failure and Success 48
3.2.3Neoclassical Theory and Market Failure Views 49
3.3Institutional Theory and Organizational Focus 52
3.3.1Stable and Dynamic Transaction Costs 55
3.3.2Hybrid Organizations—The Middle Way? 58
3.4A Coevolutionary Development Approach 59
References 65
4 Planning and Coordination of Transport Infrastructure 69
4.1Knowledge and Coordination 71
4.2The Spatial Dimension 79
4.3Recent Trends in the EU and the USA 80
References 87
5 Sweden’s Transport Infrastructure History—Coevolution and Conflict 90
5.1Transport Infrastructure Chronology 1939–2010, a Coevolutionary Perspective 90
5.1.11939–1963—Nationalization and Professionalization 92
The Nationalization 92
Policy Formation Following the Second World War 96
5.1.21963–1988 and 1989—The Present—Social Marginal Costs or Not? 98
5.1.3Conclusions 101
5.2Marginal Cost Controversies—Different Views on Financing 101
5.2.1Financing Principles 101
5.2.2A Government Dilemma and Coase’s View 102
5.2.3A Marginal Cost Controversy in Swedish Transport Infrastructure Policy? 108
5.2.4Reasons for the Change in Policies 109
5.2.5Incentives for Efficiency Changed? 112
References 114
Concluding Remarks 118
References 120
Index 129