Spatial interaction effects on inland distribution of maritime flows

Abstract

The relationship between the regional economy and the infrastructure endowment has long been discussed in the literature. In this context, it can be said that ports play an important role for regions, as they affect their competitiveness, while the regional economic activity has an effect on port traffic. Both circumstances influence the inland distribution of maritime traffic and are interconnected by the configuration of the hinterland of ports. The hypothesis of this paper is that spatial interaction effects, both exogenous and endogenous, shape the inter-port distribution of maritime traffic. The endogenous interaction effect arises when the inter-port distribution of the flows is influenced by those of nearby regions, whereas the exogenous interaction effect appears when the circumstances of these neighbours affect the flows generated by the region considered.The inter-port distribution of Spanish maritime flows of foreign trade for the period 1995–2015 was analysed in order to confirm the validity of this hypothesis. To that end, the Spatial Econometric Interaction Modelling (SEIM) framework was followed, and a Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to origin-destination flows was applied. The results confirm that endogenous and exogenous interaction effects impact the inland distribution of the Spanish container flows and reveal the existence of direct and network effects regarding the variables analysed.