Ports serve as gateways to the global economic system. Efficient and well-connected ports play a crucial role in reducing trade and transportation costs, facilitating supply chain integration, and supporting global trade. Consequently, they can significantly influence the competitive position of countries in international trade. This study investigates the impact of port efficiency on trade in Iran and its major maritime trading partners, namely the United Arab Emirates, China,Turkey, India, and Iraq. The study period spans from 2005 to 2023, based on data availability. Trade is proxied by the degree of trade openness, while the independent variables include the exchange rate, inflation rate, real gross domestic product (GDP), and the liner shipping connectivity index as a measure of port efficiency.
The results, obtained using the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (Panel-ARDL) approach, indicate that in the long run, the port efficiency index, exchange rate, and inflation rate have a positive and significant effect on trade openness, whereas real GDP has a negative and significant effect. Given that the economies under study are emerging and tend to prioritize domestic economic development over external engagement, these findings are justifiable.
Based on the results, it is recommended that the countries under study increase investment in port infrastructure and enhance domestic economic stability to improve trade efficiency.