Regional Institutional Convergence? Reflections from the Baltimore Waterfront

Abstract

This article discusses the process of institutional change across regions in response to structural economic, social, political, and technological change. It accepts as a starting point the assertion that institutional differences between regions account, at least in part, for differences in regional development outcomes. This assertion raises the question of whether institutions in different locales will converge or diverge over time. The article explores this question through a case study of institutional changes associated with the process of containerization at the Port of Baltimore. Despite considerable pressure for convergent change in various formal institutions, specifically with respect to port pricing and terminal leasing policies, important elements of a common-user approach to the operation of the port were maintained. This particular trajectory of institutional change is reflective of both the local political economy and the role of public officials in deliberating over formal institutional choices in the face of considerable uncertainty. The evidence supports a notion of institutional transformation in which regional institutional diversity, albeit in new forms, is maintained.