文档介绍：Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2003, 5, (199–218)
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Port Efficiency and International Trade:
Port Efficiency as a Determinant of
Maritime Transport Costs
RICARDO J SA´ NCHEZ1 , JAN HOFFMANN2 ,O3 ,
INA V PIZZOLITTO1 ,MARTI´ NSGUT1 &
GORDON WILMSMEIER2
1 Austral University, Argentina; 2 mission for Latin
American and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile; 3 Inter-American
Development Bank, Washington, USA. E-mail: @
This paper examines the determinants of waterborne transport costs, with
particular emphasis on the efficiency at port level. Its main contribution is (1)
to generate statistically quantifiable measures of port efficiency from a survey of
Latin mon user ports, and (2) to estimate a model of waterborne
transport costs, including the previously generated port efficiency measures as
explanatory variables. In order to incorporate different port efficiency measures
from the survey, we use ponent analysis (PCA). Our estimations
show that the specified variables in the model explain a great proportion of the
change in waterborne transport costs. With regard to port efficiency, the result is
especially important for one of the port efficiency measures obtained through
PCA with an estimated elasticity equivalent to that of distance. Other
explanatory variables which show to be statistically significant are the monthly
liner service availability, distance, and the goods’ value per ton. The
conclusions are relevant for policy makers as they show and quantify that
port efficiency is a relevant determinant of a country’petitiveness – and in
this respect, there still exist big differences among Latin American countries.
Unlike most other relevant variables, port efficiency can be influenced by public
policies.
Maritime Economics & Logistics (2003) 5, 199–218.
doi:.9100073
Keywords: Port efficiency; multivariate an