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최신자료
Markets versus Morals at Sea: Opportunity Costs and Rescue by Merchant Ships
CEPR
2025.07.09
This paper examines the interaction between market dynamics and the provision of humanitarian assistance, focusing on merchant-vessel responses to SOS incidents during the Mediterranean migration crisis. Drawing on 1.1 billion ship-positions, we find that commercial vessels do respond; however, they are 90 percent less likely than equally distant NGO-operated vessels to reach those in distress within the critical first five hours. The opportunity cost of intervening is a key determinant of this muted response. Over the longer term, shipping lanes exposed to SOS incidents experience a 14 percent decline in commercial traffic, reshaping flows within the global trade network.