 Unionised dockworkers and port ownership structure in an international oligopolyEconomics of Transportation, 2024, vol. 40, issue C Abstract: In an international duopoly with two markets and two ports, this paper investigates the role of dockworkers unionisation in determining the endogenous choice by governments of port ownership structure. While private ports maximise profits, public ports maximise domestic welfare and face a budget constraint, which is binding when unions are sufficiently wage-oriented and shipping costs are not too high. State-owned ports appear as the most likely equilibrium result although all possible configurations may arise in equilibrium, including an asymmetric structure with a state-owned port and a private port. Country size asymmetry, product differentiation and price competition in product markets favour the rise of a joint public ownership structure of ports. This structure also maximises domestic welfare when unions are wage-oriented. Keywords: Unionised dockworkers; Port ownership structure; International duopoly (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:ecotra:v:40:y:2024:i:c:s2212012224000388 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecotra.2024.100379 Access Statistics for this article Economics of Transportation is currently edited by Mogens Fosgerau and Erik Verhoef More articles in Economics of Transportation from Elsevier |
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