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Evading Corporate Responsibilities: Evidence from the Shipping Industry

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  • Vuillemey, Guillaume

Abstract

I show that the maritime shipping industry - handling above 80% of global trade flows - has evolved over the past decades to systematically evade "corporate responsibilities," i.e., compliance with regulatory standards and potential tort liabilities. Shipping firms increasingly dissociated legal and ultimate ownership, fragmented assets in one-ship subsidiaries, used flags of convenience, and evaded end-of-life responsibilities with "last-voyage flags." Microeconomic tests confirm that responsibility evasion, amidst global competition, is a dominant motive behind these patterns. These findings have implications for our understanding of corporate social responsibility, of extended forms of liability, and of the "dark side" of globalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Vuillemey, Guillaume, 2020. "Evading Corporate Responsibilities: Evidence from the Shipping Industry," CEPR Discussion Papers 15291, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15291
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    Cited by:

    1. Andreas G B Ziegler & Giorgia Romagnoli & Theo Offerman, 2024. "Morals in Multi-Unit Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(5), pages 2225-2260.

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    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; Shipping; Flags of convenience; Limited liability; Subsidiary; Globalization;
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