Abstract:

The Panama Canal, which began its construction in 1880 by France and was completed by the United States in 1914, is an extremely important waterway for the development of regional trade, global trade and thus the world economy. In this regard, the most important economic gain for the U.S. operating the Panama Canal between 1914-1999 was the increase in trade volumes due to the shortening of the distance between the countries according to the alternative routes and thus the acceleration of the process of becoming a global economic power. However, in terms of the Panama Republic, which has taken over the operating right of the channel from the United States since 2000, both the transition fees and the varied revenue from the use of the channel are two important sources for the country’s economy. In addition, the importance of the Panama Canal, which commercially connects the continents of America, Europe and Asia in terms of the world economy, is to reduce transport costs and increase the volume of global trade. Considering that the reduction of transport costs, which has a significant share in total costs, will further increase global trade, the importance of the Panama Canal in terms of the world economy is better understood. According to these statements, the aim of this study is to explore the importance of the Panama Canal in the historical process in terms of the world economy.

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