Railway Tariffs and the Interstate Commerce Law

Seligman, Edwin R. A.

doi:10.2307/2139278

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, the end of the Civil War allowed the industrial revolution that started in Europe to reach American shores. The Interstate Commerce Act, “the first serious attempt at governmental regulation for the whole of the United States” (Seligman, 1887) was passed in 1887. This led to a discussion of the principles that should govern business legislation.…”

Section: The New Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

An historical perspective on the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act

Govekar

2008

Journal of Management History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an historical perspective to help understand the forces that resulted in the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act. It aims to provide an historical vindication of the taxonomy developed by Charles Conrad in 2003.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies a framework developed by Charles Conrad in 2003 to explain the events that led to the corporate meltdown in 2002‐2003 and compare it to a similar scandal in the insurance industry at the beginning of the twentieth century.FindingsA number of parallels were found between the two incidents. Additionally, the framework developed by Charles Conrad in 2003 was vindicated by the historical comparison. Lessons for practicing managers, domestic and international, are presented along with avenues for possible future research.Practical implicationsRecent changes in the political landscape, particularly in the USA, may indicate that Sarbanes‐Oxley will, indeed, be with us for a longer, rather shorter time. However, the real lesson for managers and scholars of management may be to concentrate on the three trends that foreshadow scandals and meltdowns to prevent similar problems, with their inevitable legal backlash in the future.Originality/valueThis paper uses the framework developed by Charles Conrad in 2003 to explore to different corporate meltdowns separated by a century in the USA. Lessons learned from these incidents as well as a perspective on the probable effective life of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act are suggested.

show abstract

Section: The New Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

An historical perspective on the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act

Govekar

2008

Journal of Management History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The railroads’ burden of high fixed overhead costs was similar to the question of fixed cost overhead distribution that Johnson and Kaplan analyzed in Relevance Lost (1987) for mid-20th century multi-product industrial enterprises. Averages like the ton-mile metric developed in the 1870s by Albert Fink of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to monitor aggregate revenue or cost trends were viewed as an ineffective tool to establish economically meaningful costs measurement for rate-setting (Seligman, 1887).…”

Section: Research Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Before the advent of federal regulation in 1887, railroads in England, France, Germany, Italy, and the US had already recognized the criticality of the value of service in rate-setting (Seligman, 1887). Southern and Western American railroads had begun to adopt value of service rates to encourage the economic expansion of their service areas.…”

Section: Research Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Revenue generated by the higher-class rates effectively subsidized the fixed commodity rates. Moreover, the railroads did not use cost of service accounting in rate-setting at this time because they believed it impossible to allocate the joint overhead costs of operation between the many commodities or classes of goods hauled in an economically meaningful way (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1959; Lorenz, 1916; McPherson, 1912; Meyer, 1905; Ripley, 1912; Seligman, 1887; Sharfman, 1936; Taussig, 1913). After its formation, the ICC continued to use the value of service standard to evaluate rate equity (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887).…”

Section: Research Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Railroads generally divided their costs into two broad categories: fixed and operating. In the US and Europe, the fixed costs were estimated to represent about three quarters of total operating cost, and the variable costs about one quarter (Seligman, 1887). Many contemporaries tried unsuccessfully to devise ways to spread these overhead costs in economically meaningful ways (Seligman, 1887).…”

Section: The Emergence Of Value Of Service As a Measurement Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Accounting as a social practice: US railroad regulation, value of service accounting, and regional economic development

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Employing a methodological model proposed by Anthony G. Hopwood and refined by Peter Miller, which emphasizes the role of accounting as a social practice, this study examines how the US Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) accepted the application of the value of service accounting in rate-setting to facilitate the redistribution of income and wealth to the undeveloped economies of the South and West regions of the US.

show abstract

Tariffs, rail rates and social welfare in the USA, 1887-1914

Collier

Miranti²

2020

JMH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose This study aims to explain how the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) used its power over rail rates as part of an effort to promote the growth of economically underdeveloped regions of the USA. This was accomplished by subsidizing shipments of food and fuel staples to major domestic and world markets and by offsetting the burden of high protective tariffs through low transportation rates on imported goods, from its inception in 1887 until the disruption of ocean transport with the outbreak of First World War in 1914. Design/methodology/approach Through examination of contemporary ICC studies and cases, this study shows how the ICC condoned rate practices that promoted the socioeconomic welfare of sparsely populated regions primarily in the Southern and Western USA. Findings The study illustrates that the ICC facilitated exports by authorizing rates that subsidized the transport of overseas food and fuel staples from the interior while at the same time allowing preferential rail–sea contracts on imports that partially offset the burden of protective tariffs on these regions. The focus on regional social welfare within the ICC largely ended by 1914, with the end of protective tariffs and the start of First World War. Originality/value This new interpretation explains how international trade patterns in the USA were influenced in significant ways by the ICC to achieve regional social welfare objectives and to promote greater national economic integration.

show abstract

Railway Tariffs and the Interstate Commerce Law

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

An historical perspective on the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act

An historical perspective on the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act

Accounting as a social practice: US railroad regulation, value of service accounting, and regional economic development

Tariffs, rail rates and social welfare in the USA, 1887-1914

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About