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Impact of privatization on port efficiency and effectiveness: results from Panama and US ports

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  • Anthony M. Pagano
  • Grace W.Y. Wang
  • Onésimo V. Sánchez
  • Ricardo Ungo

Abstract

Panama has five main ports: Balboa and PSA Panama International on the Pacific, and Cristóbal, Manzanillo and Colon Container Terminal (CCT) on the Caribbean side. The government of Panama originally operated the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal. After being transferred from the United States government, most of these ports were privatized in the late 1990s. During this period, some ports in the United States have moved away from operating to non-operating. There are more private sector involvements and public--private partnerships. However, in the US there are few full asset privatizations as was done in Panama. This range of privatizations provides the opportunity to study the effects of various types of privatization on port production. We use financial econometric techniques to assess port performance during government operation and private sector operation. The results of the study provide an estimate of the savings and effectiveness gains from privatizations. Few studies examine effectiveness, beyond questionnaires of users. However, especially for transshipment ports as are the case in Panama, service variables, along with price, are very important in determining demand for service. This study compares the effectiveness of Panama privatized ports with US ports in which there are degrees of privatization.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony M. Pagano & Grace W.Y. Wang & Onésimo V. Sánchez & Ricardo Ungo, 2013. "Impact of privatization on port efficiency and effectiveness: results from Panama and US ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 100-115, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:marpmg:v:40:y:2013:i:2:p:100-115
    DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2012.756589
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Unknown, 2012. "Port of Tampa," 53rd Annual Transportation Research Forum, Tampa, Florida, March 15-17, 2012 207224, Transportation Research Forum.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pranjal Sudhir Ghate, 2025. "Optimizing ocean gateways: an empirical study of port privatization and its effects on the performance of the Indian major ports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 27(1), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Hong-Oanh Nguyen & Hong-Son Nghiem & Young-Tae Chang, 2018. "A regional perspective of port performance using metafrontier analysis: the case study of Vietnamese ports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 20(1), pages 112-130, March.
    3. Barleta, Eliana P. & Pallis, Athanasios A., 2024. "Hierarchy and mobility of Latin America and Caribbean container ports," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Merkel, Axel & Holmgren, Johan, 2017. "Dredging the depths of knowledge: Efficiency analysis in the maritime port sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 63-74.
    5. Wenming Shi & Kevin X. Li, 2017. "Themes and tools of maritime transport research during 2000-2014," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 151-169, February.
    6. Shaher Z. Zahran & Jobair Bin Alam & Abdulrahem H. Al-Zahrani & Yiannis Smirlis & Stratos Papadimitriou & Vangelis Tsioumas, 2020. "Analysis of port efficiency using imprecise and incomplete data," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 219-246, March.
    7. Aidan R. VINING & Anthony E. BOARDMAN & Mark A. MOORE, 2014. "The Theory And Evidence Pertaining To Local Government Mixed Enterprises," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(1), pages 53-86, March.
    8. Hong-Oanh Nguyen & Hong-Van Nguyen & Young-Tae Chang & Anthony T. H. Chin & Jose Tongzon, 2016. "Measuring port efficiency using bootstrapped DEA: the case of Vietnamese ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 644-659, July.
    9. Zhang, Qiang & Zheng, Shiyuan & Geerlings, Harry & El Makhloufi, Abdel, 2019. "Port governance revisited: How to govern and for what purpose?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 46-57.
    10. Wang, Wei & Liu, Xiujuan & Ding, Lili & Li, Chen & Zhang, Wensi, 2018. "The optimal port privatization levels under inter-port competition: Considering both horizontal and vertical differentiation," Economics Discussion Papers 2018-84, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Feng Pian & Lili Xu & Yuyan Chen & Sang-Ho Lee, 2020. "Global Emission Taxes and Port Privatization Policies under International Competition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-25, August.
    12. Shilin Ye & Xinhua Qi & Yecheng Xu, 2020. "Analyzing the relative efficiency of China’s Yangtze River port system," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 22(4), pages 640-660, December.

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