The Impact Analysis of Deregulation of the Local Bus Industry through the Cost Functions

抄録

Road Transport Law was partly amended in 2002. Then, a regulation to adjust supply and demand of bus services was repealed, and subsidization for the local bus industry was modified. This amendment aimed an activation of bus services. This paper aims to analyze deregulated effects of the bus industry. First, a Trans-Log Cost Function is estimated with consideration to a effective period of the deregulation and the competitive pressures in the transportation markets. Second, the relation between regional differences and competitive pressures in the transportation markets is verified by using this Cost Function. Then, effects of the competitive pressures to productive structure of the bus industry are analyzed. Consequently, it is found that the production structure is different between regions and the competitive pressures lead the bus industry to cost inefficiency.