Mark W. Frankena – författare

This is an economic analysis of pricing and subsidy policies for urban roads and urban public transit in Ontario. Professor Frankena demonstrates the benefits of evaluating the economic merits of policy alternatives, and attempts to determine whether existing policies waste resources or lead to undesirable income transfers among different groups in the population.

He concludes that resources are being wasted because the use of urban roads is substantially underpriced during periods of peak demand. He also finds that while there are sound economic justifications for substantial public transit subsidies, the allocation of subsidies by the Ontario government on the basis of capital expenditures can be expected to waste resources, as can the maximization of ridership which is likely to lead to detrimental fare and service policies.

In conclusion, Frankena suggests improvements in the systems for charging people for the use of roads and public transit and in the ways that governments provide subsidies.

This book describes and analyses the provincial government''s role in municipal and regional planning. The conversion of farmland to urban and other uses is discussed, as are the issues raised by the reports of the Ontario Planning Act Review Committee and the Federal/Provincial Task Force on the Supply and Price of Serviced Residential Land and the province''s Green Paper on Planning for Agriculture.

The authors criticize the government''s failure to conduct cost-benefit studies before setting up planning programs and show that there is little factual basis for recent alarm over the disappearance of farmland. Data gathered here for the first time show that the conversion of agricultural land to built-up urban use and non-farm rural residential use in Ontario has been taking place quite slowly in view of the rate of productivity increase in agriculture, the stock of agricultural land, and the decline in the acreage of census farms.

Economists will find in this book a useful survey of recent trends and policies. Planners, policy-makers, and students will welcome this detailed case study of how economic analysis ought to be used in formulating land use policies.

This is an economic analysis of pricing and subsidy policies for urban roads and urban public transit in Ontario. Professor Frankena demonstrates the benefits of evaluating the economic merits of policy alternatives, and attempts to determine whether existing policies waste resources or lead to undesirable income transfers among different groups in the population.

He concludes that resources are being wasted because the use of urban roads is substantially underpriced during periods of peak demand. He also finds that while there are sound economic justifications for substantial public transit subsidies, the allocation of subsidies by the Ontario government on the basis of capital expenditures can be expected to waste resources, as can the maximization of ridership which is likely to lead to detrimental fare and service policies.

In conclusion, Frankena suggests improvements in the systems for charging people for the use of roads and public transit and in the ways that governments provide subsidies.