The Economics and Political Economy of African Air Transport

Written by a ‘who’s who’ of aviation consultants and policy makers, this book fills an emerging void in the literature regarding aviation markets. It focuses on issues in Africa, the least developed of these markets but one that is of increasing interest to the aviation community and those, such as the World Bank, that have an interest in economic and social development.

Africa is currently the smallest of the ‘regional’ aviation markets but one that Boeing and others expect to expand over the medium term. Developments on the continent that require robust air transport include growth in tourism (particularly ‘exotics’), and in modern manufacturing and high-tech industries. Africa’s regional markets, with one or two exceptions, lack good infrastructure, viable airlines and an adequately skilled labor force. Safety is a major concern for most of the continent.

The original papers comprising this volume focus explicitly on the economic and political dimensions of the subject, although with relevance in many cases to the strategic planning of management of airlines, amongst other concerns. Topics discussed include external and internal market efficiencies, air service agreement liberalization, safety and security, LCC and other business models, airport economics, and aviation and tourism.

Kenneth Button is a Professor of Public Policy at the George Mason School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs, USA, and a world-renowned expert on transportation policy. He has published, or has in press, some 80 books and over 400 academic papers in the field of transport economics, transport planning, environmental analysis and industrial organization.

Gianmaria Martini is Professor of Economics at the University?of Bergamo, Italy, and Head of the Department of Economics and Technology Management. His recent research focuses on methods to estimate technical and economic efficiency in the air transportation and healthcare sectors, published in international journals and presented at many international conferences.

Davide Scotti is a Research Fellow at the?University of Bergamo,?Italy, with a focus on technical efficiency and productivity studies regarding airport activities.