Research On Structure Characteristic Of Railway Reform Based On Public Goods Attributes

Railway is a basic industry in economics and plays an important role in economic and social development. How to create institution bonus through reform, thus realize the harmony development of technology and institution innovation is an urgent theoretical and practical problem. Although a lot of factors should be considered in the research of railway reform, product attributes of an industry is an important factor. Starting from characteristic of railway industry and railway product attributes, the thesis tried to research on structural characteristic and related problems in railway reform which have deep influence on railway path. To be more detailed, the problems discussed include:First, on the basis of reviewing our past railway reform and generalizing both domestic and foreign railway reform experience and, it demonstrated that railway reform research must value product attribute of the industry, especially public goods attribute. Although reform has already made some progress, further steps are confronted with many difficulties, and the fuzzy positioning of railway attribute is the deep reason leading to the long-term stalemate of reform. As a unique industry possessing attribute of both private goods and public goods, railway sector couldn’t be entirely operated by private organizations. The initial step of railway reform is to clarify market boundary based on the different attributes of the industry, which also decides the right relationship between government and market in railway.Second, after analyzing railway characteristic and composition of public goods, the thesis focused on the unique performance of railway public goods attribute from the diverse perspective of nonprofit and commercial, administrative and marketable, commonality and specificity, public nature and corporate nature, etc. The structural impact of public goods attribute on railway reform was elaborated from various aspects. The thesis argued that, among the different structural problems affecting railway reform, the structure of product attribute is the most fundamental one. The research effort of railway reform should first be made to solve these structural problems, thus build a more comprehensive and rational economic analysis for railway reform.Third, after detailing on the public goods attribute of railway as an integrated entity, the thesis elaborated the public goods attribute of each specific business sectors in railway industry, and demonstrated that the unique impact of those public goods attribute should be considered in exploring the target model and structural characteristic of railway reform. Various railway management and reform based on breakdown of industry attribute, structural adjustment of transportation production organization based on the separate operation of public enterprise, railway transportation reorganization based on vertical adjustment of a industry and correspondent industry management and restructure of government-enterprise relationship are key topics worthy attention under the view of public goods attributes.Base on the above understanding, from the easily neglected new angle of public goods attribute and the basic dimension of industry product attribute, the paper renewed our recognition on railway nature and its special impact on reform; main economic problem was also discussed in the process in order to build a complete analysis framework on railway economy and railway reform.By applying public goods theory and public economics, the paper combined theory and practice in discussion and is divided into seven sectors. Emphasis is given to public goods theory; attribute composition of public goods in railway industry, influence of public goods attributes on the structure of railway reform, solutions of public goods problems in reform of foreign railway and other domestic transportation industries. After discussion on how to distinguish public goods attributes and private goods attributes of railway, government role and market boundary in the railway sector, operation of railway public company and its relationship with government, government regulation and law environment and so on, the thesis probes into problems brought by public goods attribute in different concrete business of railway industry, in order to build up a integrate recognition of railway attribute and reform framework for administrative mechanism of China’s railway based on structural impact of public goods attribute.Main arguments and innovation of this thesis lie in the following four aspects:First, on the basis of generalizing both domestic and foreign railway reform experience and reviewing past railway reform of China, it put forward the necessity of rediscovering railway attributes and different treatments according to its attribute decomposition. Separation of railway for public welfare and profitable railway, as well as transportation for public welfare and commercial transportation aiming for profit, i.e. separation of public goods and private goods, and treating different goods attributes of a industry with diverse management, investment, construction and operation are an important direction for further railway reform, and the basis for management of government and market relationship in railway sector.Second, it detailed concepts that are ubiquitous but easily neglected in railway industry and their structural influence on railway reform, such as market failure, market boundary, public attributes, public welfare, justification, positive externality, congestion, commonage, market-oriented index, capitalization degree, degree of public goods attributes, attribute transformation of public goods and private goods, government role, public enterprise, special organization institution, etc; and bring forward commonage economics in analyzing railway economic questions, thus build up an analysis framework for railway reform from the view of public goods attributes.Third, the thesis brought the concept of public intermediate goods into the economic analysis of railway, and changed the traditional view on industrial organizations and relationship between rail and train. The thesis reached into the industry chains of railway sector and elaborated on unique public goods attribute in railway transportation and intermediate public goods of railway that has general attributes of commonage economics phenomena in network infrastructure industries. In addition, it put forward a railway transportation reorganization idea with vertical adjustment from2-part separation to3-part separation.Last, after analyzing some structure problem in railway reform, it argued and proposed a ideal reform model of China’s railway management institution based on public goods attributes, and detailed on separation of public goods and private goods, dispatch sharing,3-part separation in railway industry reorganization, reconstruction of government-enterprise relationship and complementary reform about government role in reform transition period.Honestly speaking, a lot of problems still wait to be answered when we research railway reform from the perspective of structure. The thesis did a very preliminary probe in railway economics and reform from goods attribute view, especial public goods attributes. Further and comprehensive research needs future participants to contribute.