Political coordination costs in the Spanish port devolution process: A note

Spain’s port system was subjected to significant legislative reforms during the 1990s. Spanish Law 62/97 allowed regional governments to manage commercial ports, whereas the central government continued to control the main organisation in charge of the Spanish port system – the Spanish National Ports and Harbours Authority (SNPHA). This paper analyses the evolution of maritime traffic to measure the possible costs of political coordination between the SNPHA and the port authorities controlled by various political parties that rule regional governments. The findings point to coordination costs having a limited effect on the evolution of maritime traffic.