Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
Since partial deregulation of the railroad industry in 1980, real rail rates have fallen. Yet, previous studies are inconclusive in identifying deregulation as the reason for lower rates. In this paper, the author develops a model that tests a variety of deregulation effects on the rates charged for transporting thirty-four different commodities. The results suggest that deregulation has significantly affected almost all commodities and that the effects vary by commodity and through time. Initially, deregulation increased rates for some commodities, had no effect on others, and decreased rates on still others. However, by 1988, deregulation lowered rates significantly for almost all commodities. Copyright 1994 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.