terminals. Moreover, there is evidence that ports in higher per capita income countries are more technically efficient, and that transshipment traffic is another variable significantly associated with efficiency. In addition, the model reveals that landlord ports (those with privately operated terminals) and the perception of transparency in the public sector are associated with technical efficiency, although with weaker estimates.

The technical efficiency results show that the average port efficiency in the ten-year period was 41% in Latin America and the Caribbean, higher than the 30% estimate found in Africa (Trujillo et al, 2013) but lower than 60% for Europe (Cullinane et al., 2006b) in relatively similar periods. The analysis shows an improvement in average technical efficiency over time in LAC: from 36% to 50% between 1999 and 2009. On average, ports in South America (44%) are closer to the frontier than ports in Central America and Mexico (39%) and the Caribbean (41%) although the differences are not significant; moreover, one can find technical efficient and inefficient ports in all sub-regions. The estimations revealed that the Port of San Juan (93%) is on average the closest to the efficiency frontier, followed by Guayaquil (83%) and Santos (81%).

In further research, other types of analyses might take into account alternative dimensions of port efficiency, such as dwell times and crane productivity, which are particularly important when assessing ports individually or in smaller groups, and associate these variables with technical efficiency.

# **8. References**

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- Cullinane, K., Wang, T.F., Song, D.W., and Ji, P. (2006a). The technical efficiency of container ports: Comparing Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis. _Transportation Research, 40_ (4), 354–374.

- Cullinane, K. and Song, D.W. (2006b). Estimating the relative efficiency of european container ports: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis. _Port Economics. Research in Transportation Economics,_ (16), 85–115.

- Coto-Millán, P., Baños-Pino, J., and Rodríguez-Álvarez, A. (2000). Economic efficiency in Spanish ports: Some empirical evidence. _Maritime Policy and Management, 27_ (2), 169–174.

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ECLAC (2012). Boletin Maritimo. Retrieved from: www.eclac.org/perfil.

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