Skip to main content
Log in

Road socialism

  • Published:
International Journal of Value-Based Management

Abstract

Road socialists maintain that government is the best manager for the nation's vehicular transportation arteries. Contrary to their views, the present author maintains that the managerial role can best be fulfilled by private entrepreneurs. Under highway privatization, he claims, traffic fatalities and automobile congestion will be sharply reduced.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • AschP. and D. T.Levy (1987). ‘Does the minimum drinking age affect traffic fatalities?’ Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 6 Winter, 180–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • BlockW. (1983a). ‘Public goods and externalities: The case of roads.’ The Journal of Libertarian Studies VII (1) Spring, 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • BlockW. (1983b). ‘Theories of highway safety.’ Transportation Research Record 912, 7–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • BlockW. (1980). ‘Congestion and road pricing.’ The Journal of Libertarian Studies IV (3) Fall, 299–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • BlockW. (1979). ‘Free market transportation: Denationalizing the roads.’ Journal of Libertarian Studies III (2) Summer, 209–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M. (1979). ‘Public choice and public finance.‘ In What Should Economists Do? Indianapolis: Liberty Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M. (1990). ‘The contractarian logic of classical liberalism’. In Ellen FrankelPaul and HowardDickman (Eds.), Liberty, Property, and the Future of Constitutional Development, Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M. (1975). The Limits of Liberty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M., R. D.Tollison, and G.Tullock (Eds.) (1980). Toward a Theory of the Rent-Seeking Society, College Station: Texam A&M University.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M. (1964). ‘What should economists do?’ The Southern Economic Journal 30 (3), 213–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • BuchananJ. M. and G.Tullock (1971). The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buxbaum, R. G. and T. Colton (1966). ‘Relationship of motor vehicle inspection to accident mortality.’ The Journal of the American Medical Association, 101–106.

  • Callahan, J. M. (1970). ‘States move slowly on safety projects.’ Traffic Digest and Review March, 7–12.

  • CastleG. (1976). ‘The 55 mph speed limit: A cost-benefit analysis.’ Traffic Engineering 45 January, 11–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • CirilloJ. A. (1968). ‘Interstate system accident research study II, interim report II.’ Public Roads 35 August, 71–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • CookP. J. and G.Tauchen (1984). ‘The effect of minimum drinking age legislation on youthful auto fatalities, 1970–1977.’ Journal of Legal Studies XIII, 169–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • CrainM. W. (1980). Vehicle Safety Inspection Systems. Washington D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • CrandallR. W., H. K.Gruenspecht, T. E.Keeler, and L. B.Lave (1986). Regulating the Automobile, Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • DudaJ. L. (1977). Program Evaluation Support for the Motor Vehicle Diagnostic Inspection Demonstration Projects, Vol. II: Costs and Benefits. Falls Church, VA: Computer Sciences Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • EgmoseL. and T.Egmose (1986). ‘Speed limits save lives.’ Journal of Traffic Medicine 14, 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • FaiginB. M. (1976). 175 Societal Costs of Motor Vehicle Accidents. U.s. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • ForesterT., R. F.McNown, and L. D.Singell (1984). A cost benefit analysis of the 55 mph speed limit.’ Southern Economic Journal 50 January, 631–641.

    Google Scholar 

  • FowlesR. and P. D.Loeb (1989). ‘Speeding, coordination and the 55-mph limit: Comment.’ American Economic Review 79 (4) September, 916–921.

    Google Scholar 

  • FuchsV. R. and I.Leveson (1967). ‘Motor accident mortality and compulsory inspection of vehicles.’ Journal of the American Medical Association 201 August, 87–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • GarberN. J. and R.Gadirau (1988). ‘Speed variance and its influence on accidents.’ unpublished manuscript, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Washington D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grampp, W. S. (1950). ‘Some effects of rent control.’ Southern Economic Journal April, 425–426.

  • GravesP. E., P. E.Lee, and R. L.Sexton (1989). ‘Statutes versus enforcement; the case of the optimal speed limit.’ American Economic Review 79 (4) September, 932–936.

    Google Scholar 

  • GundersonG. (1989). ‘Privatization and the 19th-century turnpike.’ Cato Journal 9 (1) Spring/Summer, 191–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • HauerE. (1971). ‘Accidents, overtaking, and speed control.’ Accident Analysis and Prevention 3 January, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • HoppeH.-H. (1993). The Economics and Ethics of Private Property: Studies in Political Economy and Philosophy. Boston: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe H.-H. (1989). A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism: Economics, Politics and Ethics. Boston: Dordrecht.

  • HoskinA. (1986). ‘Consequences of raising the speed limit.’ Journal of Safety Research 17, 179–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • HeyneP. (1991). The Economic Way of Thinking. Sixth edition, New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • JackmanW. T. (1916). The Development of Transportation in Modern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • JondrowJ., M.Bowes, and R.Levy (1983). ‘The optimal speed limit.’ Economic Inquiry 21 July, 325–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • KamerudD. B. (1983). ‘The 55 mph speed limit: Costs, benefits and implied tradeoffs.’ Transportation Research 17A January, 51–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, D. (1990). ‘The voluntary provision of public goods? The turnpike companies of early America.’ Economic Inquiry October, 788–812.

  • Klein, D., J. Majewski, and C. Baer (1993a). ‘Economy, community and the law: The turnpike movement in New York, 1797–1845.’ The Journal of Economic History March, 106–122.

  • Klein, D., J. Majewski, and C. Baer (1993b). ‘From trunk to branch: Toll roads in New York, 1800–1860.’ Essays in Economic and Business History, 191–209.

  • Klein, D. and G. J. Fielding (1992). ‘Private toll roads: Learning from the nineteenth century.’ Transportation Quarterly July, 321–341.

  • Klein, D. and G. J. Fielding (1993a). ‘How to franchise highways.’ Journal of Transport Economics and Policy May, 113–130.

  • Klein, D. and G. J. Fielding (1993b). ‘High occupancy/toll lanes: Phasing in congestion pricing a lane at a time.’ Policy Study 170 November, REason Foundation.

  • LaveL. B. and W. E.Weber (1970). ‘A benefit cost analysis of auto safety features.’ Applied Economics 2, 265–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaveC. A. (1985). ‘Speeding, coordination and the 55-mph limit.’ American Economic Review 75 (5) September, 1159–1164.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaveC. (1989). ‘Speeding, coordination and the 55-mph limit: Reply.’ American Economic Review 79 (4) September, 927–931.

    Google Scholar 

  • LevyD. T. and P.Asch (1989). ‘Speeding, coordination and the 55-mph limit: Comment.’ American Economic Review 79 (4) September, 913–915.

    Google Scholar 

  • LoebP. D. (1985). ‘The efficacy and cost effectiveness of motor vehicle inspection using cross-sectional data — An econometric analysis. Southern Economic Jurnal 52 October, 500–509.

    Google Scholar 

  • LoebP. D. (1987). ‘The determinants of motor vehicle accidents with special consideration to policy variables.’ Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 21 September, 279–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • LoebP. D. (1988). ‘The determinants of motor vehicle accidents — A specification error analysis.’ Logistics and Transportation Review 24 March, 33–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • LoebP. D. and B.Gilad (1984). ‘The efficacy and cost effectiveness of vehicle inspection — A state specific analysis using time series data.’ Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 18 May, 145–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • MisesL.von (1969). Bureaucracy. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House.

    Google Scholar 

  • PeltzmanS. (1975). ‘The effects of automobile safety regulation.’ Journal of Political Economy 83 (4), 677–725.

    Google Scholar 

  • RothG. (1987). The Private Provision of Public Services in Developing Countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • RothG. (1967). Paying for Roads: The Economics of Traffic Congestion. Middlesex, England: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • RothG. (1966). A Self-Financing Road System. London, England: The Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • RothbardM. N. (1973). For a New Liberty. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • SchellingT. C. (1978). Micromotives and Macrobehavior. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • SnyderD. (1989). ‘Speeding, coordination and the 55-mph limit: Comment.’ American Economic Review 79 (4) September, 922–925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, D. (1964). ‘Accidents on main rural highways related to speed, driver and vehicle.’ Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, July.

  • SommersP. M. (1985). ‘Drinking age and the 55-mph speed limit.’ Atlantic Economic Journal 13 March, 43–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • WilliamsA. F., R. F.Rich, P. L.Zador, and L. S.Robertson (1975). ‘The minimum drinking age and fatal motor vehicle crashes.’ Journal of Legal Studies 4, 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • WilliamsA. F., P. L.Zador, S. S.Harris, and R. S.Karpf (1983). ‘The effect of raising the minimum drinking age on involvement in fatal crashes.’ Journal of Legal Studies 12, 169.

    Google Scholar 

  • WoolridgeW. C. (1970). Uncle Sam the Monopoly Man. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

The author wishes to thank the North American Editor of Transport Policy, and an anonymous referee from the present journal, for helpful suggestions and commentary on an earlier draft of this paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Block, W. Road socialism. Int J Value-Based Manage 9, 195–207 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00440154

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00440154

Key words

Navigation