?Governments take various measures impacting on transportation and shipping, where one does not immediately think about impacts on port competitiveness. However, often, there is a derived effect. In this presentation, two such measures are dealt with: the development of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative on the one hand, and the internalization of external costs on the other. Model calculations show to what extent land modes start to compete with sea transport, but also how shifts in ports of call occur.
Thierry Vanelslander (1975) currently is associate professor at the Department of Transport and Regional Economics. He graduated as a doctor in Applied Economics at the University of Antwerp. Until 2013, he was holder of the BNP Paribas Fortis chair on transport, logistics and ports. Until halfway 2009, he was director of the Research Centre on Freight and Passenger Transport, hosted by the Department of Transport and Regional Economics, to which he still is a promoter now. He is currently course co-ordinator for the courses 'Management of Innovation and Technology' and 'Port Economics and Business' at C-MAT, and 'Transport Economics' at the Faculty of Applied Economics. His research focuses on business economics in the port and maritime sector, and in land and air transport and logistics. His PhD dealt with co-operation and competition in sea-port container handling.