Economic History of the Railway Network in the Czech Republic - Myths, Mistakes and Illusions in Economic Policy and the path dependence of Railways
1. ed. Brno: Masaryk University, 2006. 84 p. Rail transport. ISBN 80-210-4219-2
Economic aspects of rail transport
Zdeněk Tomeš, Tomáš Pospíšil
1. ed. Brno: Masaryk University, 2006. 79 p. Rail transport. ISBN 80-210-4220-6
The aim of the study is to contribute to the understanding of the historical development, the formation of institutions and the economic results of the railways. The study uses tools and methods of economic analysis, application of lifecycle theory, financial analysis, investigation of intensity of competition in the market and analysis of interest groups.
The study is organized into seven basic chapters. In the first two, the economic history of the railway is analyzed. As part of the historical analysis of the development of world railroads, we attempted to apply lifecycle theory to the development of railways, including possible implications for development of rail policy. In the chapter on the Czech railway development, we focused mainly on the development of economic indicators of the Czech railway in the twentieth century. In the next part, we then looked at the economic results of the Czech Railways, where we dealt particularly closely with the volume of public subsidies for rail transport. We have tried to decipher their flows and quantify the overall commercial loss of rail transport. In order to fit the performance, losses, subsidies and debt of the Czech railway into broader context, we performed an international comparison of the basic parameters of selected railway companies. In order to assess the competitive position of the Czech railway, we then conducted a cross-sectoral comparison of economic indicators on the Czech transport market. In the final chapter, we looked at the issue of competition and the monopoly on railways. We have dealt with the necessary conditions under which competition can effectively act on the rail market. Applying the theoretical prerequisites to the background of Czech railways has given us a powerful tool for assessing the suitability of the application of the competition to the railways.
Full text to download here: Tomes_Pospisil_studie_2006