Abstract
With serious maritime accidents not showing signs of decrease, concern over the quality of shipping is growing more than ever. Many maritime rules and regulations are implemented to regulate shipping. However, they are only to set out the minimum standard. More proactive measures using incentives have recently been introduced to promote a higher level of governance in ship management and operation. The original and the new institutional economics give interesting perspectives on the governance structure and the institutional environment surrounding these phenomena of shipping transactions. The concepts of bounded rationality and opportunism in institutional economics are applicable to shipping. Incentive schemes can be seen as the agents of change. This paper intends to explain how incentives are being incorporated in the governance structure of shipping and influence the evolution of institutions functioning under the shipping culture, which is embedded in the minds of people.
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Acknowledgements
This paper is an updated version of the presentation made at the annual conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists held in Busan, 3–5 September, 2003. The author would like to extend his sincere gratitude to Professor Dr HE Haralambides of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Green Award Foundation, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan for profound advise and information, which greatly contributed to the progress of this research.
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Shinohara, M. Quality Shipping and Incentive Schemes: From the Perspective of the Institutional Economics. Marit Econ Logist 7, 281–295 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100138
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100138