The Appropriatness of Government Support of Shipping Industry ; A General Equilibrium Approach

해운산업에 대한 정부지원의 타당성 검토

In this study the economic impacts of government support of shipping industry in the labor rich country are appraised in a general equilibrium model. Shipping industry subsidies (which are supposed to be supplied by lump-sum tax) will decrease disposable income by shifting productive resources from traded goods to the comparatively disadvantageous transport sector, and at the same time reduce the implicit tariff effect by lowering transport costs. The net effect of shipping industry subsidies is to increase social welfare because the latter positive effect of shipping industry subsidies is to increase social welfare because the latter positive effect dominates the former negative effect. Such an increase in social welfare can never be expected from competitive traded goods industry subsidies in the case of which social welfare will actually decrease because of inefficient resource allocation resulting from the subsidies. In addition it is worth noting that the subsidies on the most capital intensive shipping industry will rectify unevenness in income distribution by raising relative price of labor contrary to subsidies on capital intensive traded goods.