tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567907241439261243.post1361157769888625254..comments2024-01-09T04:41:41.590-08:00Comments on Analysing British Politics: The privatisation storyWyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567907241439261243.post-81130631034068887142011-01-03T14:36:07.941-08:002011-01-03T14:36:07.941-08:00It's not a public good as defined in economics...It's not a public good as defined in economics, no doubt it could be described as a merit good. Whether there is some other model I don't know.Wyn Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567907241439261243.post-60594309061370477692011-01-03T10:36:58.234-08:002011-01-03T10:36:58.234-08:00you make some very good points. But as far as I kn...you make some very good points. But as far as I know there was considerable underinvestment in British Rail before privatisation. Does the choice really have to be between inefficient state-run services and exorbitant privatised railways. Was/Is there no way Deutsche Bahn, SNCF could have provided role models for the UK? while the state was too heavily involved in the UK economy, cannot public transport justifiably be described as a public good?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567907241439261243.post-71890663545521050222010-12-31T09:30:13.269-08:002010-12-31T09:30:13.269-08:00It's very easy to forget how poor British Rail...It's very easy to forget how poor British Rail as a corporate monopoly was. Some privatised lines are a considerable improvement on what was there before, Chiltern Railways being a case in point. Of course, it is a very old system but when one tries to build HSTs on the French or Spanish model, the Nimbys come out in force. I think there were mistakes made in the design of privatisation in that fragmentation was taken too far. If one subsidies train fares more, it invariably results in the less well off subsidising the better off who use trains more.Wyn Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567907241439261243.post-89564696784696920072010-12-31T07:41:39.054-08:002010-12-31T07:41:39.054-08:00Picking up on your comment about the self-congratu...Picking up on your comment about the self-congratulatory tone, would you agree that rail privatisation was a failure? British train fares are the most expensive in Europe, yet their creaking infrastructure and service doesnt compare with state-run European railways. Indeed it was considerable government investment under Labour and the visible hand of regulation that achieved about real improvements, but a state run system may have been less fragmented and provided more value for money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com