Ensayos sobre economía portuaria: un enfoque estratégico

Abstract

Developments in transport and communications occurred in recent decades have led to the relocation and separation of the main centers of production and consumption, separating geographically their participants and changing the game rules among these agents. This has led to the transport sector to become a key pillar for national economies. Within the transportation industry, maritime industry has special relevance to connect different markets or agents, being significantly influenced by the ports, which are the main nodes of its physical network. In this context, strategic decisions in the maritime industry, and specifically in the port sector, are particularly important because they affect firms' location, relations between different markets, economic growth and social welfare. The aim of this thesis is to study these strategies and their impact on firms' profits, social welfare or the allocation of resources. To do this theoretical models and empirical applications are combined.