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Is Distance a Good Proxy for Transport Costs?: The Case of Competing Transport Modes

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Author Info
Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso ()
Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D.

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Abstract

In this paper, we analyze separately the determinants of maritime transport and road transport costs for Spanish exports to Poland and Turkey (markets for which maritime and road transport are competing modes) and investigate the different effects of these costs on international trade. First, we investigate the extent to which maritime and road transport costs depend on different factors such as unit values, distances, transport conditions, service structures, and service quality. Second, we analyze the relative importance of road and maritime transport costs in comparison with distance measures as determinants of trade flows. The main results of this investigation indicate that real distance is not a good proxy for transportation costs and identify the central variables influencing road and maritime transportation costs: for both modes, transport conditions are strong determinants, whereas efficiency and service quality are more important for maritime transport costs, and geographical distance is more important for road transport. Road and maritime transport costs are central explanatory factors of exports and they seem to deter trade to a greater extent than road or maritime transit time when endogeneity is considered.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by cege – Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research, University of Goettingen (Germany). in its series cege – Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research Discussion Papers with number 54.

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Length: 30
Date of creation: 02 Jun 2006
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Handle: RePEc:got:cegedp:54

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Web page: http://www.cege.uni-goettingen.de
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Related research
Keywords: transport costs; transport mode; Spanish exports; international trade;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F1 - International Economics - - Trade
O1 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
O55 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. I Martínez-Zarzoso & L García-Menéndez & C Suárez-Burguet, 2003. "Impact of Transport Costs on International Trade: The Case of Spanish Ceramic Exports," Maritime Economics and Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 179-198, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2003. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 170-192, March. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Peter Egger, 2005. "On the Impact of Transportation Costs on Trade in a Multilateral World," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 592-606, January.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Gordon Wilmsmeier, 2008. "Determinants of Maritime Transport Costs. A Panel Data Analysis for Latin American Trade," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 172, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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