Determinants of Rail Productivity in the 20 Century

Productivity growth in Australia’s railways through the 20 Century was neither smooth nor uniformly positive. It was static or falling for much of the century, before increasing rapidly with dieselisation and the rise of minerals traffic. This paper uses regression analysis to develop an understanding of the factors which drove productivity growth throughout the 20 Century, using a unique dataset developed at the Centre for Research in Applied Economics at Curtin University. It aims not only to understand the growth of rail in the 20 Century, but also to provide lessons for policymakers about what can assist it in continuing to grow in the 21.