Do maritime passengers’ subsidies in Europe affect prices?

Some European governments subsidize their residents when they travel at sea. This paper seeks to analyze the impact on prices of maritime passengers’ subsidies in Europe. Following a review of the scarce academic literature on this topic and the subsidy scheme in Europe, a sample of firms’ prices and other characteristics of 40 European routes for 2016 are analyzed. Both an estimation of a price equation and a matching approach are applied and reach the same conclusion: prices per kilometer are around 40 per cent higher on those subsidized routes due to subsidies. This outcome reduces the potential subsidy gain to consumers.Sin financiaciónNo data JCR 20180.104 SJR (2018) Q1, 13/163 Ocean Engineering, 54/350 Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, 75/737 Geography, Planning and Development, 24/163 TransportationNo data IDR 2018UE