THE IMPACT OF DEREGULATION ON THE PRODUCTION STRUCTURE OF THE MOTOR CARRIER INDUSTRY

Empirical analysis of the motor carrier industry pre- and postregulatory reform reveals that deregulation resulted in significant changes in firm production structure and lower real average costs. Translog cost functions for firms operating in 1977 and 1983 were estimated and compared for "other specialized commodity" carriers. Fitted average costs were computed from these functions and real costs that cannot be attributed to technological changes but rather suggest efficiency gains. The results also suggest that it is inappropriate to predict outcomes of deregulation using empirical analyses of firms in the regulated environment. Copyright 1988 by Oxford University Press.