Miguel Ángel Pesquera

Evaluation of Port Externalities: The Ecological Footprint of Port Authorities

This chapter presents an analysis of the main results of the calculation of the ecological footprint and carbon footprint (or CO2 emissions into the atmosphere) produced by the economic activity of a Port Authority of the North Coast of Spain, using a compound financial accounts method (MC3). Furthermore, the results will be compared with those obtained for Gijon Port Authority in 2006. For the Spanish port authorities, environmental protection and sustainable development are a commitment and part of their strategic actions. Some eco-efficiency indicators for the companies under analysis are also calculated, compared and analysed.

Impact of logistics performance on world economic growth (2007–2012)

This research proposes a global aggregate production function in dynamic terms which captures the contribution of logistics performance to world economic growth. The well-known model of Mankiw et al. (1992) is used, incorporating the logistics performance index as an explicative production factor, with good results. The production function is estimated empirically for the world’s countries with available data for the period 2007–2012. The results obtained estimate that a 1% increase in the performance logistics index and the most important sub-indexes can generate an increase of world economic growth ranging between 0.011% and 0.034%.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment in High-Speed Train System in Spain

This study compares the results of two political approaches to transport directed at the reduction of negative external effects. The comparison is between a policy of building a high-speed rail line to attract travelers away from highways and full social-cost pricing on all modes, that is, removing the implicit subsidies to all modes by pricing congestion and external costs. The former approach was adopted in 1992 in Spain with the introduction of the high-speed train in the Madrid-Seville corridor, bringing with it an important increase in the modal share of railway transport. From the analysis made, it can be concluded that from the point of view of economic efficiency and social benefit optimization, the high-speed train should not have been implemented that year (1992) in the Madrid-Seville corridor. Other transport policy approaches, such as the introduction of an optimal modal price based on the respective marginal social costs, would have increased social benefit. Therefore, the results obtained in...

A Methodological Discussion on Port Economic Impact Studies and Their Possible Applications to Policy Design

The main methodologies applied to obtain the economic impact of a port, are discussed in this paper. A systematic classification which allows to evaluate the availability of the resources as well as the advantages, and disadvantages of every methodology, is offered according to the aims. Moreover, with these methodologies, the impact of port industry on the rest of the economy, can be obtained.

A Cost–Benefit Analysis of a New Container Terminal

This paper present a cost–benefit analysis approach applied to measure benefits involving the expansion of container capacity in a seaport context. The paper starts by setting out the theoretical background for identifying and measuring the project benefits. There have been identified and calculated three different benefits: benefits from existing traffic, benefits from avoided diversion costs and benefits from generated traffic. A practical application of this methodology has been included. The results for this application show that this project is viable, either if this infrastructure has congestion problems in the present or may have them in the short term.

Efficiency Stochastic Frontiers: a Panel Data Analysis for Spanish Airports (1992–1994)

The most efficient airports are the ones of Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Alicante, Ibiza, Fuerteventura, Menorca and Bilbao.

Comparative Analysis of Port Economic Impact Studies in the Spanish Port System (1992–2000)

This work is a comparative approach of the results obtained from a representative sample of economic impact studies made during the nineties on the ports of the various sectors of the Spanish Port System (Southern, Northern and Eastern Port Subsystems). Before starting this comparison, we will set forth the adequacy of this mathematic tool to evaluate port investment projects. We have homogenised over time and space the results obtained from a representative sample of these studies and have included technical recommendations to standardise the results of the studies in order to facilitate the comparison.

A New Approach to Innovation and its Application to the Countries of the European Union

Abstract This research provides a new theoretical approach to innovation. Innovation relies on collaborative relationships between universities, private companies and public administration. This theoretical approach offers an opportunity for scientific discovery in an environment of collaboration. Innovative ideas are not self-contained items; they are more like ecosystems and networks. The article also provides data processed in recent years (2003-2009) for the European Union states, providing relevant empirical evidence on the relationship between human capital, relational capital, technological capital and innovation. In the econometric and statistical modelling, the countries of the Europe of the Fifteen (EU-15) will be considered.

Impact of New Technology on Port Administration

This article presents an approach to the impact of new technology on the management of port services. After an introduction on motivation, there are three sections of a descriptive nature in which the methods used to incorporate new technology in the management of the port sector are presented. In the fourth section an empirical approximation is carried out, focusing on efficiency frontiers, on the impact of investment in new technology in Spanish ports for the period 1985–1995. The research is conclusive on the existence of technological progress in the Spanish port sector from the 1990s onwards, with more technical efficiency in ports that have been pioneers in applying new information technology such as Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Estimation of the Economic Value of Student Urban Travel Time

The values of saving in the time spent in journeys to study locations range from 3.04 €/hour for students with low preference for leisure (α=0), to 1.35 €/hour for students with very high preference for leisure.