The economics of road supply policy in Australia : with special reference to the Commonwealth government and Queensland

Docwra, G. E. (1983). The economics of road supply policy in Australia : with special reference to the Commonwealth government and Queensland PhD Thesis, School of Economics, The University of Queensland.

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Author Docwra, G. E.
Thesis Title The economics of road supply policy in Australia : with special reference to the Commonwealth government and Queensland
School, Centre or Institute School of Economics
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 1983
Thesis type PhD Thesis
Total pages 479
Language eng
Subjects 1402 Applied Economics
Formatted abstract  The main concern of this study is to focus attention on the wide difference which exists between the theory of optimal road price and investment policy, and actual road pricing and investment policy in Australia.

The study is divided into five parts. Part I reviews recent literature on efficient price, output and investment policy for the road supply industry. The review highlights a variety of prescriptive advice. Reasons for differences in advice are offered, and an alternative approach, based on the theory of joint products, is suggested.

Part II turns to the practice of roads policy in Australia and examines the role of the Commonwealth Government during the period 1922 to 1980. Of particular interest is the extent to which the Commonwealth Government has used its powers under S96 of the Constitution to influence road supply decisions.

Part III provides a detailed examination of roads policy in the State of Queensland. The institutional framework is examined and statistical and econometric methods are employed in order to throw light on the nature of the objectives of the Queensland Main Roads Department, and the criteria used for determining road fund allocation by regions. The analysis also examines the relationship between Commonwealth Government policy and the decisions taken by the Queensland State Road Authority.

Part IV extends the institutional aspects of the study by examining the implications of the High Court's interpretation of S92 of the Constitution and the importance of Commonwealth/State co-operation for road pricing possibilities in Australia. A number of pricing options are considered.

Part V provides a short statement of the major findings of the study. A combination of ignorance, with institutional, constitutional, and political factors accounts for the wide gap between the theory relating to road price, output and investment policy and the actual policy pursued in Australia.
Keyword Roads -- Economic aspects -- Australia
Roads -- Australia -- Finance
Roads -- Queensland -- Finance
Additional Notes This study has been uaidertaken essentially as a contribution to social history, to the exploration of facets of the Catholic sub-population in Queensland over the years 1910 to 1935. It is not an ecclesiastical history, nor a political or economic one, though considerations of prior concern for each such history impinge centrally on its subject matter. It will be argued that around both the years 1910 and 1935 new kinds of consciousness were emerging, both v/ithin the Church in Queensland and in its wider environment. This interval has been seen, therefore, as a unit permitting of a degree of discrete study.

 
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