Port Economics Research Articles

Unpacking drug trafficking phenomenon through seaports: lessons from the Italian ports

ABSTRACT This article aims to provide an analysis of the factors influencing the operational strategies of drug trafficking organisations in the context of seaports. It seeks to move beyond a monolithic representation of this complex phenomenon by investigating the intricate interplay between legal and illicit spheres, as well as the diverse methodologies employed in the illicit transportation of drugs from vessels to destinations outside of ports. Drawing from empirical evidence gathered in the Italian context, the results reveal that drug trafficking through seaports is a multifaceted endeavour influenced by a combination of endogenous and exogenous factors. Internal factors within the network, such as organisational structure (including network size, control mechanisms, and member accountability) and resources (human, material, and informational), play a pivotal role in shaping drug trafficking organisations’ strategies. Additionally, external factors, including maritime dynamics, port economics, cultural aspects, and institutional determinants, significantly impact decision-making processes within these criminal organisations.

Port economics, management and policy studies (2009–2020): a bibliometric analysis

This paper analyses published research in port economics, policy and management (port studies) based on examining all relevant academic journal papers published from 2009 to 2020. The systematic review of all 1227 papers relies on quantitative and qualitative bibliometric tools to reveal the structures of the research community (i.e., authors’ country of affiliation, number of authors involved, and international collaboration rates) and the themes and content of port research (i.e., research approaches, units of analysis, ports and commodities examined, levels of research localisation, port markets commonly (not) studied). It also presents a taxonomy of port studies based on a content classification of the themes and sub-themes examined. The paper concludes with a citation analysis that reveals the coherence of port research. The analysis is enriched by comparing the findings with similar studies focusing on the 1997–2008 timeframe. This unique monitoring of a period that expands over a quarter of a century offers a valuable tool for better understanding the research landscape and deciding directions for future research. From a theoretical perspective, the study provides evidence of the rapid transformation of port economics, policy and management into a mature research field.

Evaluation of Coordinated Level between Coastal Ports and Urban Economics Based on DEA and Coordination Degree Model: Case of Jiangsu Province

The coordinated development of coastal ports and urban economy has great significance to realize the high-quality development of marine economy. Under the requirements of high-quality development, this article theoretically analyzes the interactive relationship between port economics and urban economics, then based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA), static coordination degree model, and dynamic coordination degree model, constructs the vertical evaluation index system and evaluation model to evaluate the coordinated development level of port economics and urban economics, and evaluates the actual situation of the three coastal cities of Jiangsu province as an example. The results show that the average effectiveness ranking of the coastal ports to urban economics is the same as that of urban economics to coastal ports, but the degree of impact varies from region to region, and the degree of coordination follows a phenomenon of Lianyungang >Nantong >Yancheng. Finally, the article gives strategic suggestions to promote the high-quality development of the three coastal cities in Jiangsu Province.

Seaport efficiency and competitiveness in European seaports

The measurement and assessment of seaport efficiency and competitiveness have been the subject of many academic works in port economics. This study aimed to benchmark and measure the efficiency and competitiveness of the largest 30 container ports in Europe over the period 2005–2018. The technical efficiency of the sample container ports was estimated by the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) window analysis. Then, the obtained efficiency scores were introduced as explanatory variables with 8 other variables to explain the competitiveness of these ports using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Our findings suggest that handling costs is considered to be the most influential factor for competitiveness. Moreover, our estimates showed that efficiency is negatively correlated with the third axis of competitiveness which strengthens the fact that the Northern European seaports are found to be more competitive and less efficient. This may explain the over-investment and excessive use of inputs phenomena in order to provide customers with a higher quality of service.

Global trends in maritime and port economics: the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Global trends in maritime and port economics: the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Reflecting economic activity through ports: The case of Australia

With approximately 85% of global trade moved by sea, the relationship between ports and the economy has become symbiotic. Identifying and tracking this relationship is sought by both port economics and port forecasting literature. Tackling both challenges -i.e., the ports-economy relationship and forecasting- at once, can only be pursued by data-driven factor models, through their ability to reduce the dimensionality of large cross sections of time series. We find fertile ground in applying, for the first time, a factor modeling approach to the Australian port sector by utilizing a disaggregate dataset of 2765 series representing national and regional port activity for 20 years. Through our model, we establish a quantifiable connection between ports and the economy and demonstrate their capacity in reflecting economic activity. We assess a rich lead-lag structure in our dataset and trace its cyclical properties. Using the same method, we compare the Australian and U.S port sectors, revealing insights on their structural differences. Finally, utilizing our model as a forecasting device, we report favorable short and mid-term forecasting performance against benchmarks.

L’économie portuaire en quête d’une audience : les péripéties publiques de la tarification portuaire au coût marginal social, 1870–2000

Economics and its sub-disciplines often developed in close relationship with its audiences. This paper examines the public life of one particular case, the idea of marginal social cost pricing for ports, by highlighting two key episodes. The first episode was the emergence of port pricing in the 1970s, when the academic concept found a willing ear at international organisations such as the World Bank. The idea of marginal cost pricing for ports replaced the then prevailing principle in port policy of national public interest, with the principle of economic efficiency. The second episode was the eager adoption of the idea of marginal social cost pricing for ports by the European Commission in the 1990s. Along the way, from the 1970s to the late 1990s, the relation between economics and its audience appears to have undergone a dramatic shift. In the earlier episode, academic economists took the lead finding only a receptive audience with international organisations. In the 1990s, by contrast, one such international organization, the European Union, took the lead in advancing the idea of marginal social cost pricing, pushing economists into the role of either intellectual defender or critical observer. The insights from this particular history may be useful to obtain a better understanding of the role of applied economics in the micropolitics of the various waves of deregulation, liberalization, and privatization that swept the world since 1970.

Business process management in the port sector: a literature review

Purpose This paper aims to review the application of business process management (BPM) in the port sector. Its objective is to understand whether BPM principles are applied in the port sector, the role of the procedural factor in port performance evaluation and whether electronic data interchange systems have been used for process management purposes. Design/methodology/approach The objective of this research is to conduct a critical review of existing academic literature in the domain of BPM and its application in the ports sector. This paper assessed more than a hundred recent publications, from key journals in the domains of port economics, BPM and information technology. The two principle platforms used are the online databases of the World Bank Group and the University of Antwerp. Findings Academic literature reviewed reveals a partial application of BPM in the port and maritime sector. BPM related research is conducted via the utilization of modeling algorithms or optimization and simulation tools. There exists evidence that electronic data interchange (EDI) data extracted from EDI platforms can be used to model inter-organizational business processes in several industries. Yet, to the best of the author’s knowledge, no research investigates Port Community System (PCS) or single window (SW) data utilization for BPM purposes, although PCS and SW benefits are well documented. Port performance is largely assessed based on the production theory, and limited number of studies use elements of procedural efficiency as variables for their analysis. Originality/value The holistic application of BPM has been researched in numerous industries but in the port sector. This paper constitutes the first section of an original research study to define key components, assumptions and constraints for developing a comprehensive BPM framework in the port sector.

Metrics for Assessing Overall Performance of Inland Waterway Ports: A Bayesian Network Based Approach

Because ports are considered to be the heart of the maritime transportation system, thereby assessing port performance is necessary for a nation’s development and economic success. This study proposes a novel metric, namely, “port performance index (PPI)”, to determine the overall performance and utilization of inland waterway ports based on six criteria, port facility, port availability, port economics, port service, port connectivity, and port environment. Unlike existing literature, which mainly ranks ports based on quantitative factors, this study utilizes a Bayesian Network (BN) model that focuses on both quantitative and qualitative factors to rank a port. The assessment of inland waterway port performance is further analyzed based on different advanced techniques such as sensitivity analysis and belief propagation. Insights drawn from the study show that all the six criteria are necessary to predict PPI. The study also showed that port service has the highest impact while port economics has the lowest impact among the six criteria on PPI for inland waterway ports.

Port economics comprehensive scores for major cities in the Yangtze Valley, China using the DMSP-OLS night-time light imagery

ABSTRACTIn this article, the Defence Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) night-time light remotely sensed data on a small scale is proposed to evaluate port economic comprehensive scores (PECS) for the ports of the major cities, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing, in the Yangtze River Valley, China. First, the concept and calculation method of port night-time light intensity (PNLI) are proposed. Second, an estimation method of PECS is proposed using factor analysis. Third, two regression models (i.e. first- and second-order polynomials) between PNLI and PECS are built and tested. The goodness-of-fit of the two models are compared, both with and without outliers. Finally, experimental results show that the proposed methods for evaluating PECS in the Yangtze River Valley, China are feasible. Wuhan has the strongest correlation (R2 = 0.925) and passes the F-test, Ft = 55.429 >4.26 = Ft (0.05) (2, 9); Shanghai has the weakest correlation (R2: 0.688) but still passes as well, Ft = 9.944 >4.26 = Ft(0.05) (2, 9). Factors confounding the correlation for Shanghai are discussed. Overall, this study not only proposes a new set of methods to evaluate the performance of port economies but also provides a feasible way to use DMSP-OLS data to study the geographic problems of small scales.

The impact of muddy bottoms in ports

ABSTRACTPorts are drivers of regional and of countries’ economic development. Most ports are built close to coastlines, where waters are shallower and tend to suffer from deposit sedimentation processes, which reduce depths in operational areas. In presence of shallow waters and sedimentation, ports must decide whether to dredge or not, where both decisions have significant impacts on ports’ annual incomes. Nevertheless, there are seabeds, namely muddy bottoms, in which vessels can navigate with a safety degree. This paper aims at investigating the extent to which the theoretical knowledge of vessel’s control in muddy waters is valid at a certain nautical bottom, as defined by the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (since 2009 the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure but the acronym stays PIANC) and its impact on port economics. To achieve the proposed objective, an email survey was sent to worldwide pilots that manoeuvre ships in muddy waters. The survey validated the theoretical knowledge, showed that navigation in muddy waters is possible, that it can contribute to reduce ports’ operational costs, and that the subject can be rather controversial.

Competition or complementarity in Dutch inland port development: A case of overproximity?

The port economics literature is extensive, but does not address well the economic effects of inland ports development. This paper explores the extent to which spatial proximity of inland ports vis-a-vis each other influences agglomeration externalities. Spatially lagged regression models are employed to analyse whether spatial dependence between proximate inland ports can be observed or, alternatively, whether the density of the inland port network in the Netherlands is leading to diseconomies of scale because of overproximity. The conclusions indicate that especially in the context of the dense fluvial network of the Netherlands inland ports development involves much competition among inland ports; being proximite to strong neighbouring inland ports is not necessarily beneficial to the growth prospects of an inland port. This indication of overproximity highlights a need for reflection on the possibility of an integrated and coordinated regional governance approach towards inland port development in the Netherlands and North-West Europe. The relationship between inland ports and regional development is obviously present, but ambiguous since it involves a multiplicity of interactions among a diversity of actors.

Advances in port studies: the contribution of 40 years Maritime Policy & Management

Port economics, management and policy have progressively emerged as a distinctive research field, and a core part of maritime economics. This paper provides an analysis of all the 267 port studies published in Maritime Policy & Management (MPM) since its inception in 1973. This paper provides a content analysis for seven interrelated research theme categories including main research topics and methods, authorship distribution and citation counts. It is demonstrated that MPM played, and continues to play, a key role in publishing research on seaports. The published research increasingly applies established analytical frameworks to ports. The paper concludes with a discussion on current challenges for port-related research.

A Critical Review of Port Pricing Literature: What Role for Academic Research?

Few topics in the area of port economics have attracted so much attention from the side of the academic community as port pricing. The impact of such literature has been quite tangible in terms of policy development and the adoption of cost-based charging practices by many ports. Nonetheless as the port sector changes, new areas of research emerge and the academic community needs to look beyond the traditional theories to provide research that matters.This manuscript provides a review of the existing literature on port pricing with a specific focus on the literature of the last decade. In the paper the author carried out a systematic analysis of the main maritime and port economics journals and highlighted the current literature gaps and the areas that can benefit from academic attentions. Among the most interesting ones there are charging practices aiming at reducing externalities, the development of all inclusive port charges and the application of revenue management for port infrastructure utilization.

Trieste – Passeggiando sul mare, lungo i ricordi di una economia di traffici

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Vd. Atlante della Competitività, Unioncamere-Tagliacarne, http://www.unioncamere.gov.it/Atlante Ibid. Morris, J. (2001): Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. Paperback, Cambridge: vdf. Torbianelli, V. (2009): Il mare non bagna Barcola, in Corbellini G., Marin A., (eds): 97 + 104 = dieci idee, immagini, progetti per Trieste. EUT, Trieste: vdf, 18–21. Marin, A. (2006): Il porto Vecchio di Trieste da vuoto urbano a risorsa per la città. XII International congress – Industrial Heritage and urban transformation productive territories and industrial landscape: vdf. Semerani, L; Tamaro, G. (1974): Relazione alla prima fase del Piano Particolareggiato della A1 – Centro Storico di Trieste, Ed. Comune di Trieste, Trieste: vdf. Dati a cura di Samer & Co, http://www.adriaticseanetwork.it Marchigiani, E.; Zanette, D., (2011): Green(S) trip. Un laboratorio di indagine territoriale per Trieste Sud-Est, EUT-Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste. Additional informationNotes on contributorsVittorio TorbianelliVittorio Torbianelli is Associate Professor in Applied Economics at the University of Trieste. After graduating in Transport Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Trieste, he wrote his PhD thesis in Transport Economics on railways infrastructure charges. He began his official teaching career in 2001 at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Trieste, where he teaches courses in transport economics, urban economics, maritime economics and industrial economics. Vittorio's research interests center on regional development and social and economic local impacts of port activities. His work includes advice on planning and evaluating transport plans, urban and regional plans and territorial management and development processes, with specific reference to ports and coastal areas and to tourism development plans. His role as university Professor and researcher specialized in the topics of urban economics and in particular port economics has enabled him to gain experience in the coordination of international activities concerning research on regional, urban and port development (for example: an INTERREG project on sustainable development in cross-border territories between Italy and Slovenia, the PHARE City Twinning Project, involving Italy and Ukraine on the opening of maritime routes, etc.). vittorioalberto.torbianelli@arch.units.itTeresa FrausinTeresa Frausin is Ph.D. student in Science of Engineering – Integrated planning of architecture and civil engineering at the University of Trieste, XXVII cycle. She graduated with honours at the Faculty of Architecture of Trieste with a thesis exploring new typologies for educational and cultural facilities as cores for spatial and social renewal in deprived social housing neighbourhoods. She collaborated with several architecture offices in Trieste and as assistant at the courses of the laboratories of Urban Design III at the Faculty of Architecture of Trieste. Moreover, she was involved in researches of local and national interest exploring the interaction between infrastructures and territories; between urban policies and the cruise sector; the design of school facilities for children education. teresa.frausin@gmail.com

Port Economics, Policy and Management: Content Classification and Survey

This paper presents a taxonomy and analysis of the content of published research in port economics, policy and management (port studies). The recent increase of these publications suggests a growing interest in the study of ports. However, the research characteristics and directions of this research field are unidentified. This paper provides a systematic analysis of port studies published during the period 1997–2008. A comprehensive cross-citation and analysis of the themes, approaches and findings of all 395 relevant journal papers identifies the extent to which the research field is maturing, and the leading papers. This paper also presents an extensive analysis of the content, based on the classification of all port studies into seven research themes. For each theme, research topics, widely used research questions, concepts and research methods and the most important research findings are discussed. Finally, we identify emerging research challenges and research questions that still need to be answered.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Port Systems: The Role of Windows of Opportunity in Shaping Seaport Competition

How do seaports evolve in relation to each other? Recent studies in port economics and transport geography have been focused on how supply-chain integration has structurally changed the competitive landscape in which individual ports and port actors operate. Port regionalization has been addressed as the corresponding new phase in the spatial and functional evolution of port systems. However, these studies lack theoretical foundations that allow us to assess empirically the role either of the institutional context or of strategic agency in the competitive (spatial and functional) evolution of regional (integrated) port systems. The authors present an evolutionary framework to analyze the development of seaports in a regional context by making use of the concept of ‘windows of opportunity’. The role of seaport-based evolution in the processes aimed at positioning market players and ports on the container scene in the Rhine–Scheldt Delta is examined.

Economic Impact of Port Activity: A Disaggregate Analysis - The Case of Antwerp

The economic impact of the port sector is usually measured at an aggregate level by indicators such as value added, employment and investment. This paper tries to define the economic relevance for the regional as well as for the national economy at a disaggregate level. It attempts to identify, quantify and locate the mutual relationships between the various port players themselves and between them and other Belgian industries. Due to a lack of information foreign trade is only tackled very briefly but the method outlined in this paper can be used to measure the national effects of changes in port activity at a detailed level. A sector analysis is made by compiling a regional (regional as geographically opposed to national, not to be mistaken for the Belgian Regions Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia) input-output table, resorting to microeconomic data: a bottom-up approach. The main customers and suppliers of the port's key players or stakeholders are identified. A geographical analysis can also be carried out by using data at a disaggregate level. Each customer or supplier can be located by means of their postcode. In so doing, the economic impact of the port is quantified, both functionally and geographically. In the case of the port of Antwerp, the results show important links between freight forwarders and agents. The geographical analysis suggests the existence of major agglomerating effects in and around the port of Antwerp, referred to as a major transhipment location point. Key words: port economics, regional input-output table, sector analysis, geographical analysis.

Port Economics, Policy and Management: Review of an Emerging Research Field

This paper reviews research in port economics, policy and management during the period 1997–2008. In an increasingly international economy, research interest in ports is gradually emerging. This paper examines the developments, themes and characteristics of this research, by reviewing a comprehensive database consisting of all the 395 relevant journal papers on ports that were published during the period 1997–2008. With the use of quantitative and qualitative bibliometric tools, the paper identifies the characteristics of the port research community (such as the authors’ country of affiliation, number of authors involved and international collaboration rates). It also identifies the main characteristics of this emerging scientific research field (such as research approaches, units of analysis, samples of the ports examined and commodities analysed). Finally, the paper develops a content classification that distinguishes the main research subfields, identifies leading papers for these subfields and uses a cross‐citation analysis to analyse the coherence of the port research field.

Activities, resources and inter-organizational relationships: key factors in port competitiveness

In the last decade, the port economics literature has given great emphasis to the Supply Chain Management approach as the new paradigm for the definition of port competitiveness. SCM supports the development of partnerships between the actors of the supply chain and considers the integration of activities and resources along business processes as source of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, the application of SCM approach to the port is particularly compiex given the traditional hostile relationships between port actors. In the effort to overcome such complexity, some authors have considered ports as Logistics Service Providers and interpreted their role within supply chains through the integrative practices undertaken by Global Players–mainly Shipping Companies and Terminal Operators–in the supply of integrated logistics services. Even tough these actors are crucial for the port competitiveness, they determine a passive role of port in the new competitive scenario. The definition of a potential and pro-active role of port in the supply chains is the objective of this paper that presents, through a literature review on SCM and port competitiveness, a new framework for port competitiveness. According to this framework, that is based on the value constellation concept value is generated by joint effort of port actors in the satisfaction of clients' needs, through the exploitation of different I mterdependencies (serial, pooled and reciprocal) between supply chains. In this context, Port Authority has a I fundamental role in identifying those resources–the so called critical assets–that encourage the development of inter-organisational relationships between port actors in the value generation process.