Rail privatisation in the UK

Rail privatisation in the UK has been less than an startling success. Don Boudreaux believes that the ideas of economist Ronald H. Coase may help to explain why:

political prohibition against greater or lesser vertical integration -- that is, the prohibition on U.K. railway franchisees changing how much of their operations they perform in-house and how much they purchase from outside suppliers -- means that a critical tool is kept from managers who wish to improve rail service in the U.K.