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: http://www.saylor.org/books/ Saylor.org 873