Executive Summary: Balsa Research invites proposals for rigorous economic analysis examining the impact of Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the “Jones Act”) on U.S. workers. We seek to develop models assessing current labor market effects and projecting potential employment outcomes under various reform scenarios, with particular attention to union employment dynamics.

Funding ranges from $5,000 to $60,000, with exceptional proposals receiving consideration for additional support. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Background: Balsa Research seeks to engage qualified labor economists or research teams to conduct analysis of the Jones Act's impact on U.S. employment, wages, and labor market dynamics.

The Jones Act mandates that maritime cargo transported between U.S. ports must utilize vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-crewed, and U.S.-flagged. While often defended as protecting American jobs, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the Act's net employment effects across the broader economy.

Primary Research Objective: The primary objective is to quantify the Jones Act's impact on U.S. employment. Specifically, we are interested in the net employment effects across the entire economy, and union employment impacts across the maritime industries and across all industries.

We would also welcome work in regional employment variations, particularly in states dependent on maritime industries.

Scope of Work:

1. Current labor market analysis establishing baseline measurements of:

• Direct employment in Jones Act-protected industries (shipbuilding, U.S.-flag shipping)

• Indirect employment effects in related industries

• Union membership and wage premiums in affected sectors

• Comparison with international maritime labor markets

2. Development of labor economics models to estimate:

• Employment elasticities with respect to shipping costs

• Inter-industry labor flows under different policy scenarios

3. Counterfactual analysis of employment under reform scenarios:

• Partial reforms (e.g., removing only U.S.-built requirement)

• Full repeal with transition assistance programs

4. Production of publication(s) that document the research methodology, empirical findings, and policy implications.

At minimum, grantees must deliver a reproducible model with documented code, and a journal-submission-ready manuscript.

While we anticipate most proposals will address all four components, we welcome applications that demonstrate exceptional strength in specific areas of the scope. Proposals focusing on particular components should clearly indicate how their work would integrate with complementary research efforts. We are also open to innovative methodological approaches that achieve our research objectives through alternative means.

Funding: Base funding for this initiative ranges from $5,000 to $60,000. Budget proposals should comprehensively account for personnel costs including salary or wages with appropriate fringe benefits, data acquisition expenses, and costs associated with the publication and dissemination of findings.

We suggest applying for a range of amounts, from the minimal amount necessary to successfully meet a research objective, to the largest amount such that no extra money would buy any additional productivity. If promising applications exceed our current funding levels, we will fundraise for the remainder rather than reject the application.

We also recognize the potential for exceptionally promising and comprehensive proposals that may require additional resources (e.g. for full labs). For such cases, we are prepared to consider significantly more funding. 

Balsa Research will additionally reimburse up to $5000 in article-processing charges (APCs) for one peer-reviewed journal article that results directly from the funded project. This reimbursement applies only to APCs not already covered by institutional agreements, waivers, or other funding sources. Reimbursement is issued upon receipt of the publisher’s APC invoice.

Eligibility and Expertise:  To be eligible for consideration, projects must include at least one investigator who holds a faculty appointment or is enrolled as a graduate student at a U.S. college or university. Applications involving collaborations with think tanks or industry economists are welcomed.

The ideal research team will have demonstrated expertise in labor economics, industrial relations, or related fields, with particular strengths in:

• Employment impact analysis

• Regional labor market analysis

• Transportation or maritime economics (preferred but not required)

Proposal Requirements:

Letter of Inquiry (Strongly Encouraged)

Applicants may submit a brief 2-3 page letter of inquiry before preparing a full proposal. LOIs should include:

• Research question and approach

• Team qualifications

• Estimated budget range and timeline

• Preliminary thoughts on data sources and methodology

• Initial hypotheses regarding employment effects

LOI authors will receive feedback within 2 weeks indicating: (a) strong fit - proceed to full proposal, (b) potential fit with suggested modifications, or (c) unlikely fit with explanation.

Full Proposal Requirements

Whether proceeding from an LOI or submitting directly, full proposals must include:

1. Detailed description of the proposed methodology.

2. Estimated timeline and major project milestones.

3. Budget proposal, including a breakdown of costs.

4. Information on the researcher or research team, including a summary of qualifications and relevant prior work in addition to CVs.

5. A conflict of interest statement describing any financial or other interests of the research team that might bear on the proposed work, especially any financial or other ties to the transportation industry.

6. If focusing on only a part of the scope, an outline of how this work will fit into the larger project objective.

Submission Process: We strongly encourage but do not require the submission of a letter of inquiry. Direct full proposals are also welcome but have a higher risk of misalignment.

Applications should be submitted to https://forms.gle/bYL1sRooDEye9aEU9 .

All proposals that meet the requirements will be considered by our review committee of subject matter experts, including economists and policy analysts familiar with the Jones Act. Proposals will be evaluated on the robustness of the proposed methodology, the relevance and expertise of the team, feasibility of the timeline, and overall cost-effectiveness.

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions within 45 days of complete submission.

Inquiries: For further information or questions regarding this RFA, please contact Jennifer Chen (jenn@balsaresearch.com).