AN ECONOMETRIC-ANALYSIS OF THE SEA-GOING LABOR-MARKET

This paper estimates a simultaneous equation econometric model for the demand and supply of sea-going labour. The main explanatory variables are the seamen's wage rate, the size of a country's merchant fleet, the average age and ship size and the employment opportunities ashore. Subsequently, the model is expanded to include seamen's income and the effects of inflation and currency fluctuations. The model also estimates a series of elasticities that can be useful for policy-making purposes such as the elasticity of foreign exchange receipts with respect to seamen's wages. Finally, although the model is estimated using data from the Greek shipping industry, its generality makes it suitable for use by other countries as well.