Authors libby rittenberg 873

unused to the demands of a competitive, unprotected, and unregulated
environment, went bankrupt or were taken over by other airlines. Large
airlines abandoned service to small and midsized cities, and although most
of these routes were picked up by smaller regional airlines, some
consumers complained about inadequate service. Nevertheless, the more
competitive airline system today is probably an improvement over the
highly regulated industry that existed in the 1970s. It is certainly
cheaper.Table 16.3 "Improvement in Consumer Welfare from
Deregulation" suggests that the improvements in consumer welfare from
deregulation through the 1990s have been quite substantial across a broad
spectrum of industries that have been deregulated.
Table 16.3 Improvement in Consumer Welfare from Deregulation
Industry

Improvements

Airlines

Average fares are roughly 33% lower in real terms since
deregulation, and service frequently has improved
significantly.

Less-thantruckload
trucking

Average rates per vehicle mile have declined at least 35%
in real terms since deregulation, and service times have
improved significantly.

Truckload
trucking

Average rates per vehicle mile have declined by at least
75% in real terms since deregulation, and service times
have improved significantly.

Railroads

Average rates per ton-mile have declined more than 50% in
real terms since deregulation, and average transit time has
fallen more than 20%.

Banking

Consumers have benefited from higher interest rates on
deposits, from better opportunities to manage risk, and
from more banking offices and automated teller machines.

Natural gas

Average prices for residential customers have declined at

Attributed to Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen
Saylor URL: />
Saylor.org

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