Maritime and port economics
(economia marittima e portuale)
Prof. ENRICO MUSSO
Credits: 6
Level: 4th year
Purpose of the course
The course aims at providing in-depth analysis of maritime transport and port economics,
with a special focus on recent trends occurring in those industries.
Contents
Maritime transport in the global economy – ships, ports and intermodality.
The demand for seaborne transport – transport demand and economic growth.
The supply: fleet, shipyards, ships’ markets - the economics of ship’s size - the shipping industry:
liners, tramps, charters; dry bulk, tankers, general cargo.
The market of maritime transport: liners, tramps, charters - short run and long run prices.
Competition in maritime markets - conferences, consortia, strategic alliances – multimodal
transport and logistics: network, terminal, stevedores - Short sea shipping.
The cruise market: growth in the ’90 and the future.
Maritime policies - international registers, shipping and taxation.
Ports: their role and functions - transhipment and final destination ports - port in local economies
and in the global economy - port generalised costs.
The ship-port relationship and port selection criteria - cooperation and integration in the port
industry -specialised and dedicated terminals, scale economies.
Port management models, port authorities - privatisation issues - the Italian case.
Port investments, financing, and charging – Pricing principles: the marginal cost pricing and the
average cost pricing.
Labour organisation in seaports.
Port policy issues: EU’s Green Paper and White Paper. The Port Package and its failure.
Lectures
The course includes:
– lectures;
– seminars delivered by guest lecturers from other universities;
– conferences given by operators in shipping and port industries;
– students’ activities (seminars, research projects, etc.)
Examinations
Written and Oral exams based on teaching materials or on the above mentioned bibliography.
Students regularly attending the course can get through the examination the last week of the
course.
Students are required to register at the examination either via internet or by the secretary to the
Section of Transport Economics of the Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods
(DIEM) within 1.00 P.M. of the day before the examination.
Bibliographical references and teaching material
• Materials of the course available on the website http://www.enricomusso.it
• Th. GRAMMENOS, The Handbook of Maritime Economics and Business, LLP, London 2002:
chapters 1, 2, 3, 8, one to be chosen among 11, 12, 13; one to be chosen among 21, 23, 27;
one to be chosen among 33, 34.
For students who want to prepare the exam in Italian / Per gli studenti che desiderano preparare
l’esame su testi italiani e sostenere l’esame in italiano:
• U. MARCHESE, Argomenti e problemi di economia dei trasporti marittimi, Genova, Bozzi
2001, capp. 1, 3, 14, 21, 23, 26
• ed inoltre, a scelta:
• E. MUSSO, Città portuali: l’economia e il territorio, Milano, Angeli, 1996, cap. 2
• S. SORIANI, Porti, città e territorio costiero, Bologna, il Mulino, capp. 3, 9
