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  4. May 2025
  5. Rigidities in Transportation and Supply Chain Disruptions

蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings

ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)

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Rigidities in Transportation and Supply Chain Disruptions

  • Giulia Brancaccio
  • Myrto Kalouptsidi
  • Theodore Papageorgiou
蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
vol. 115, May 2025
(pp. 543–50)
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Abstract

In this paper, we provide a simple and intuitive story for supply chain disruptions driven by the rigidities in the transportation sector. Focusing on maritime shipping, we argue that the frequent macroeconomic shocks that shape demand for transportation meet a highly inelastic supply curve for transportation services. The steepness is driven by equilibrium bottlenecks in ships (transportation agents) and ports (transportation infrastructure). This leads to highly volatile shipping prices and port congestion, affecting importers and exporters worldwide. We discuss how both global trade and inflation react to these costs so that disruptions pass through to the entire economy.

Citation

Brancaccio, Giulia, Myrto Kalouptsidi, and Theodore Papageorgiou. 2025. "Rigidities in Transportation and Supply Chain Disruptions." 蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings 115: 543–50. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251079

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • E31 Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
  • F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
  • L14 Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation; Networks
  • L91 Transportation: General
  • L92 Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
  • R41 Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise