Methodology to Locate Multimodal Logistic Platform: The Case of Goiás State in Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian economy throughout its history has had emphasis on certain parts of the territory, which still concentrate most of the country’s GDP, while most regions have low levels of productivity and lack ability to attract both financial and human resources. Many economists  throughout  the  twentieth  century  have  studied  the  issue  of  poor  land occupation and regional inequalities and produced a theoretical framework that served to support the "Developmental Policies", which were public policies aimed at fostering economic development (Furtado, 1967).    Many of these policies affirm that public investment in infrastructure is a central pillar to promote development (De Souza, 1981). Based on this approach, this paper uses location theories from economic geography as the underlying foundation to propose a methodology for implementing multimodal logistic platform as a means to reduce transport and storage costs so that certain regional products can have lower prices and be more accessible to other markets. Thus, if logistic platforms are implemented in inner regions of Brazil in a way that caters for the particular features of each region, these platforms can promote national integration as well as enable all surrounding locations to export their products, which, in turn, can potentially promote regional development.