Liberalization and Public Service in Regular Maritime Transport of Goods: The Case of the Azores islands

Abstract

Liberalization of maritime transport, under the creation of the European single market, is a key question in terms of the policy of transports of the Azores islands, as an ultraperipheral insular space. The present work aims to apply the concept of universal service to the regular maritime transport of goods in the Azores, as an alternative to the present regulation method, which establishes market functioning conditions partially inconsistent with a competitive regime. Universal service would obtain a better solution in terms of efficiency of resource allocation, with a similar level of well being of the islands populations. Nevertheless, the difficulties in the implementation of the concept, namely in terms of port infrastructures, may raise severe difficulties to the process.