 Cabotage sabotage? The curious case of the Jones ActJournal of International Economics, 2020, vol. 127, issue C Abstract: This paper examines the economic implications of the Jones Act, which restricts domestic waterborne shipments to American vessels. Since the passage of this cabotage law a century ago, a plausibly exogenous rise in foreign competition has contributed to the closure of most American shipyards and to a decline in American-built ships. Thus, the Jones Act requirements have become more onerous over time. The results show that domestic shipments are less likely to be transported via water than imports of the same good into the same state. Exploiting the decline in Jones-Act-eligible vessels over time, additional results show that this cabotage law has disproportionately decreased domestic water trade especially in coastal states. These findings support common, but to date unverified, claims that the Jones Act impedes domestic trade. Keywords: Cabotage; Jones Act; Domestic trade; Shipping; Trade policy (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:inecon:v:127:y:2020:i:c:s0022199620300933 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103378 Access Statistics for this article Journal of International Economics is currently edited by Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier and RodrÃguez-Clare, Andrés More articles in Journal of International Economics from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.