Endogenous Rigidities and Capital Misallocation: Evidence from Containerships

RePEc Short ID: pza441
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1865-2942

Bin Zahur, Nahim; Garcia-Osipenko, Maria; Vreugdenhil, Nicholas

doi:10.24149/wp2636

Working Paper

Endogenous Rigidities and Capital Misallocation: Evidence from Containerships

Abstract: CORRECT ORDER OF AUTHORS: Garcia-Osipenko, Vreugdenhil, Bin Zahur. We investigate how endogenous rigidities inhibit physical capital reallocation. We focus on the role of contract duration—a classic example of an adjustment rigidity. We argue that when agents sign longer contracts in booms when markets are thin, they generate a contracting externality which further amplifies thinness and impedes the adjustment of markets to shocks. We develop a dynamic spatial framework with booms and busts where agents search and choose match duration. Applying the framework to the containership leasing market, we find substantial misallocation from endogenous rigidities, particularly in the transition after a crash.

JEL Classification: D22; D23; L14; L22; L91; R40;

https://doi.org/10.24149/wp2636