This paper in the Eastern Economic Journal (co-authored with Jocelyn Crowley) examines the effects of the government created monopolies at service areas along New Jersey’s Toll Roads.
An earlier working paper version of this paper resulted in a brief story in the New York Times. I am not sure if the reporter grasped the main point about the size of the inefficiency and waste from the state creating monopolies selling gasoline and food along the toll roads.
A study by two Rutgers professors confirms what is probably obvious to New Jersey toll-road drivers: motorists pay more for gas and food there than they would if they got off at the nearest exit. Jocelyn Crowley and John A. Spry did first-hand research May 17 through May 21 and found gas prices to be at least five cents per gallon higher on the New Jersey Turnpike, Atlantic City Expressway and Garden State Parkway than at the nearest off-highway gas stations. Similarly, food prices tended to be much higher on the toll roads. Ms. Crowley recommended allowing off-road establishments to advertise on the toll highways and putting more, competing vendors in rest areas.