Maritime industrial economics

This course aims at giving some theoretical and empirical concepts inspired by Industrial Organization to analyse the shipping industry and its connected markets. After a thorough analysis of demand and supply characteristics and the derived equilibria of the shipping market, other key concepts will be defined and measured, such as network economies, mixing up economies of scope (i.e. from a bundle of freight services) and economies of scale, which are key factors of concentration and competitiveness for this industry. A good complementary handbook reference for this first part dedicated to the essentials in maritime economics can be found in Martin Stopford’s book, third edition. The UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, published on a yearly basis, might also be helpful to capture the updates of the maritime shipping industry.
The market organization is further developed in the second part of the course, starting with the modelling of spillover effects through Input-Output models. The method can be also used to estimate any kind of direct and indirect economic effects caused by the presence of a specific industry (e.g. fishing and commercial ports, shipping industry, coastal tourism, shipyards, etc.). The measurement and analysis of concentration will follow to appreciate the creation of large and integrated firms, consortia and alliances in the shipping industry. The last chapter will be dedicated to a conceptual analysis of firm strategies through oligopoly models and game theory, possibly illustrated by a remote participation to a serious game of oligopoly competition in the liner market (TRALIN).