Chapter 18 Governance Models Defined

The recent worldwide trend towards devolution in the port industry has spawned considerable variety in the types of governance structures now in place around the world. This chapter discusses the range of devolution models in the global ports sector, as identified by the World Bank and academic researchers, and then attempts to validate the existence of these models. It identifies key strategic objectives for port governance and proxies for the range of approaches to the delivery of port activities, identifying nine for use in further research. The chapter concludes that the data do not validate the World Bank or other models proposed as in use, and that these models are oversimplified. The chapter lays the foundation for further research into port governance.