Evolution of national port governance and interport competition in Chile

This paper analyses the evolution of port development and port governance in Chile since the 1990s. Current port development is not only challenged by a volatile and slowed down economic environment, but also by changing industry and sclerotic institutional conditions. Applying the matching framework in combination with the life cycle theory, aims to identify how the institutional structures created by port reform evolved and whether these are suitable to manage current and future devolution and changes in the Chilean port system.The paper describes the gains of technical efficiency in the early years after the reform in a decentralised governance structure and asks whether this governance structure is still congruent in the current environment. Some recent attempts to regain national influence have been inhibited by the institutional setting implemented by port reform. The asymmetries of the institutional capacity local and national level become more evident as the life-cycle of the current concession contracts reaches its end, and the existing institutional structure itself might evolve to be the impediment to change.