The Economics of Maritime Transportation

This book looks at maritime economics with direct reference to real world applications. It highlights that the key to understanding maritime economics is to understand the behaviour of individuals and the society in economic decision making, and how this leads to changes in the maritime industry and market. The book is a rigorous coverage of real world problems in maritime studies, methodologies and strategies.

The unique features of the book include: 1) Systematic development of content: from fundamental economic concepts to analytical models. 2) Complete coverage of important issues in maritime economics. Each chapter includes a presentation of phenomena in maritime industry, the related concepts and explanation, the analytical modelling, a well-designed full set of exercises and homework problems, and advanced discussions for researchers.

The book integrates the fundamental economic theory with the real world development in shipping and port and will be of invaluable use to anyone who wishes to understand the function of invisible hand behind the evolution of shipping industry and markets, build strong quantitative (analytical) skills, and make better decisions when they are facing the challenges in the real world.

Meifeng Luo is an Associate Professor of Maritime Studies in the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, as well as the director of the IMC-Frank Tsao Maritime Library and R&D Center in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is currently an associate editor of Maritime Policy and Management: the flagship journal of international shipping and port research.

Tsz Leung Yip is currently the Associate Director in C.Y. Tung International Centre for Maritime Studies and Associate Professor at the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).