The article illustrates the results of a research project aimed at identifying the main economic and industrial characteristics of the port system of the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Region, Italy, and the role it plays within the economy. Combining a top-down and bottom-up approach, based on interviews and detailed data at firm level, a bi-regional input-output (I-O) table is built with a special disaggregation of the 12 port-related sectors of the FVG region. The I-O table provides the basis for the estimation of a bi-regional I-O model. Drawing from the I-O literature, the article also implements two methodologies to estimate: (a) the level of self-sufficiency of the port system and (b) its degree of substitutability, that is, what would happen if the FVG port system closes down, completely or partially.
