The Interstate Commerce Commission and the Railroad Industry: A History of Regulatory Policy

(Hardback)

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This work explores the philosophy, actions, and policies of the Interstate Commerce Commission by focusing on the development of its railroad regulation practices, particularly since 1976. Richard Stone traces the radical change in the ICC's view of the rail industry, from the maximum control it exercised for many years through the unilateral deregulation that was begun in 1978. He considers the forces and pressures that contributed to the Commission's actions, including Congress, the president, the railroads, rail shippers, and academicians. The book begins with two chapters that survey the history of the ICC and rail regulation through the mid-1970s. Stone then turns to the events of 1976, when the seeds of deregulation were sown with the election of Jimmy Carter and the passage of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform (4R) Act. Subsequent chapters cover the years between the 4R Act and the Staggers Act, which were characterized by the Commission's changing attitude toward rail regulation; the background and provisions of the 1980 Staggers Act and the events that followed it; and the recent events and changes in philosophy that have taken place at the ICC with regard to the rail industry. This study, the first to be published on the ICC since 1976, follows that body's transformation from a powerful independent commission to a much smaller and less influential institution. The work will be a valuable resource for students of public policy, transportation studies, and political science.

Reviews

Stone (marketing, Towson State University) has written a history of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and its regulatory control over the railroads. Although the primary focus of the book is the period after 1976, the author also describes the political and economic conditions leading up to the creation of the ICC as well as ICC policies in the intervening years. The book constitutes a detailed history of the legislation, rulings, and court decisions that have affected the regulatory relationship between the railroads and the ICC. Stone also provides useful descriptions of the individual actors involved in this process and describes the many changes in the institutional structure of the ICC that have occurred through the years. The last half of the book documents the process of administrator of Daniel O'Neal and later Darius Gaskins as ICC chairmen as well as the process of legislative deregulation beginning with the Staggers Act of 1980. The various legislative initiatives to reregulate the railroad industry and alternatively to abolish the ICC are also described. For upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections.-Choice
"Stone (marketing, Towson State University) has written a history of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and its regulatory control over the railroads. Although the primary focus of the book is the period after 1976, the author also describes the political and economic conditions leading up to the creation of the ICC as well as ICC policies in the intervening years. The book constitutes a detailed history of the legislation, rulings, and court decisions that have affected the regulatory relationship between the railroads and the ICC. Stone also provides useful descriptions of the individual actors involved in this process and describes the many changes in the institutional structure of the ICC that have occurred through the years. The last half of the book documents the process of administrator of Daniel O'Neal and later Darius Gaskins as ICC chairmen as well as the process of legislative deregulation beginning with the Staggers Act of 1980. The various legislative initiatives to reregulate the railroad industry and alternatively to abolish the ICC are also described. For upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections."-Choice

Author Bio

RICHARD D. STONE is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Towson State University in Maryland. He has previously published and presented papers on transportation and transport systems.