PORT COMPETITION BETWEEN LOS ANGELES and LONG BEACH: AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

This paper focuses on the process of institutional change at the leading ports of the United States: Los Angeles and Long Beach. In order to do so, it makes use of the structure of provision‐approach and the concept of regime politics which allows for a systematic analysis and comparison. Key questions are: how are both ports institutionally structured? How do they evolve in relation to each other? And what is the role of agency in this process? The paper reveals how both ports remain institutionally different in spite of competition. This persistent institutional diversity can be explained by that fact that institutions represent territorially rooted structures of power in which competitive performance will not always be the decisive interest.