Free ports: towards a network of trade gateways

Free ports are a form of territorial exceptionalism that has existed for centuries and become an important paradigm of globalization. In the contemporary setting, they act as transportation, logistics and trade platforms, using their territorial exceptionalism as a competitive advantage. Free ports such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai are among the world’s leading commercial gateways, offering a form of leverage to transactions, transportation and the transformation of material goods. The historical evolution of free ports underlines a growing complexification and specialization that has led to a multitude of models, each fitting a specific regulatory and operational framework.This paper aims rationalizing the complexity of free ports. It is based on a wide array of empirical observations and an analysis of structure, function and evolution of free ports. Collected free ports data enabled the identification of three constitutive factors of evolution: an external factor (the jurisdiction), an internal factor (the services provided) and a linking factor (the orientation of flows). Based on these three factors a model of free ports was designed with a typology of thirteen types of free ports, an explanation of their evolution, and their future prospects.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1186/s41072-017-0026-6
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/23644575
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © Alexandre Lavissière and Jean-Paul Rodrigue 2017.
• Authors:
  • Lavissière, Alexandre
  • 0000-0003-2613-4931
  • Rodrigue, Jean-Paul
• Publication Date: 2017-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p 7
• Serial:
  • Journal of Shipping and Trade
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Springer Nature
  • ISSN: 2364-4575
  • Serial URL: https://jshippingandtrade.springeropen.com/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Globalization; International trade; Logistics; Networks; Ports
• Uncontrolled Terms: Free trade zones
• Subject Areas: Economics; Marine Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01688100
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 13 2018 9:13AM