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This thesis studies how firms meet and match with their potential buyers in international markets. Buyers accumulation abroad is a crucial component of exporters growth: sales to new buyers explain almost 50% of firms' export growth rate heterogeneity in the medium run. Yet, in international markets, heightened geographical and cultural distances exacerbate search and information frictions making it harder for firms to match with potential buyers. This thesis quantifies the role of search, financial, and network barriers faced by firms while willing to match with buyers abroad.To investigate this question this thesis relies on a unique data set covering the universe of intra-EU trade relationships of French firms in which buyers of French firms are identified. More precisely, for each transaction, the exporting firm, the product and value of the flow as well as the buyer through its European VAT number are recorded.The first chapter explores how search frictions in international good markets distort competition between firms of heterogeneous productivity. The second chapter studies the role of liquidity constraints in preventing firms from expanding their customer base. The last chapter paper investigates the role of managers' networks for the acquisition of buyers in international markets. ; Cette thèse étudie la rencontre et l'appariement entre les entreprises françaises et leurs acheteurs sur les marchés internationaux. La constitution d'un portefeuille d'acheteurs à l'étranger est une composante cruciale de la croissance des exportateurs: les ventes vers de nouveaux acheteurs expliquent près de 50% des différences de taux de croissance à l'export entre les entreprises françaises à moyen terme. Pourtant, sur les marchés internationaux, l'éloignement géographique, les différences culturelles et institutionelles exacerbent les difficultés qu'ont les entreprise à trouver leurs acheteurs potentiels, Rauch (2001), Allen (2014) et Arkolakis (2010). Cette thèse étudie et quantifie l'effet des obstacles ...

This thesis studies how firms meet and match with their potential buyers in international markets. Buyers accumulation abroad is a crucial component of exporters growth: sales to new buyers explain almost 50% of firms' export growth rate heterogeneity in the medium run. Yet, in international markets, heightened geographical and cultural distances exacerbate search and information frictions making it harder for firms to match with potential buyers. This thesis quantifies the role of search, financial, and network barriers faced by firms while willing to match with buyers abroad.To investigate this question this thesis relies on a unique data set covering the universe of intra-EU trade relationships of French firms in which buyers of French firms are identified. More precisely, for each transaction, the exporting firm, the product and value of the flow as well as the buyer through its European VAT number are recorded.The first chapter explores how search frictions in international good markets distort competition between firms of heterogeneous productivity. The second chapter studies the role of liquidity constraints in preventing firms from expanding their customer base. The last chapter paper investigates the role of managers' networks for the acquisition of buyers in international markets. ; Cette thèse étudie la rencontre et l'appariement entre les entreprises françaises et leurs acheteurs sur les marchés internationaux. La constitution d'un portefeuille d'acheteurs à l'étranger est une composante cruciale de la croissance des exportateurs: les ventes vers de nouveaux acheteurs expliquent près de 50% des différences de taux de croissance à l'export entre les entreprises françaises à moyen terme. Pourtant, sur les marchés internationaux, l'éloignement géographique, les différences culturelles et institutionelles exacerbent les difficultés qu'ont les entreprise à trouver leurs acheteurs potentiels, Rauch (2001), Allen (2014) et Arkolakis (2010). Cette thèse étudie et quantifie l'effet des obstacles ...

This thesis studies how firms meet and match with their potential buyers in international markets. Buyers accumulation abroad is a crucial component of exporters growth: sales to new buyers explain almost 50% of firms' export growth rate heterogeneity in the medium run. Yet, in international markets, heightened geographical and cultural distances exacerbate search and information frictions making it harder for firms to match with potential buyers. This thesis quantifies the role of search, financial, and network barriers faced by firms while willing to match with buyers abroad.To investigate this question this thesis relies on a unique data set covering the universe of intra-EU trade relationships of French firms in which buyers of French firms are identified. More precisely, for each transaction, the exporting firm, the product and value of the flow as well as the buyer through its European VAT number are recorded.The first chapter explores how search frictions in international good markets distort competition between firms of heterogeneous productivity. The second chapter studies the role of liquidity constraints in preventing firms from expanding their customer base. The last chapter paper investigates the role of managers' networks for the acquisition of buyers in international markets. ; Cette thèse étudie la rencontre et l'appariement entre les entreprises françaises et leurs acheteurs sur les marchés internationaux. La constitution d'un portefeuille d'acheteurs à l'étranger est une composante cruciale de la croissance des exportateurs: les ventes vers de nouveaux acheteurs expliquent près de 50% des différences de taux de croissance à l'export entre les entreprises françaises à moyen terme. Pourtant, sur les marchés internationaux, l'éloignement géographique, les différences culturelles et institutionelles exacerbent les difficultés qu'ont les entreprise à trouver leurs acheteurs potentiels, Rauch (2001), Allen (2014) et Arkolakis (2010). Cette thèse étudie et quantifie l'effet des obstacles ...

This thesis studies how firms meet and match with their potential buyers in international markets. Buyers accumulation abroad is a crucial component of exporters growth: sales to new buyers explain almost 50% of firms' export growth rate heterogeneity in the medium run. Yet, in international markets, heightened geographical and cultural distances exacerbate search and information frictions making it harder for firms to match with potential buyers. This thesis quantifies the role of search, financial, and network barriers faced by firms while willing to match with buyers abroad.To investigate this question this thesis relies on a unique data set covering the universe of intra-EU trade relationships of French firms in which buyers of French firms are identified. More precisely, for each transaction, the exporting firm, the product and value of the flow as well as the buyer through its European VAT number are recorded.The first chapter explores how search frictions in international good markets distort competition between firms of heterogeneous productivity. The second chapter studies the role of liquidity constraints in preventing firms from expanding their customer base. The last chapter paper investigates the role of managers' networks for the acquisition of buyers in international markets. ; Cette thèse étudie la rencontre et l'appariement entre les entreprises françaises et leurs acheteurs sur les marchés internationaux. La constitution d'un portefeuille d'acheteurs à l'étranger est une composante cruciale de la croissance des exportateurs: les ventes vers de nouveaux acheteurs expliquent près de 50% des différences de taux de croissance à l'export entre les entreprises françaises à moyen terme. Pourtant, sur les marchés internationaux, l'éloignement géographique, les différences culturelles et institutionelles exacerbent les difficultés qu'ont les entreprise à trouver leurs acheteurs potentiels, Rauch (2001), Allen (2014) et Arkolakis (2010). Cette thèse étudie et quantifie l'effet des obstacles ...

This thesis studies how firms meet and match with their potential buyers in international markets. Buyers accumulation abroad is a crucial component of exporters growth: sales to new buyers explain almost 50% of firms' export growth rate heterogeneity in the medium run. Yet, in international markets, heightened geographical and cultural distances exacerbate search and information frictions making it harder for firms to match with potential buyers. This thesis quantifies the role of search, financial, and network barriers faced by firms while willing to match with buyers abroad.To investigate this question this thesis relies on a unique data set covering the universe of intra-EU trade relationships of French firms in which buyers of French firms are identified. More precisely, for each transaction, the exporting firm, the product and value of the flow as well as the buyer through its European VAT number are recorded.The first chapter explores how search frictions in international good markets distort competition between firms of heterogeneous productivity. The second chapter studies the role of liquidity constraints in preventing firms from expanding their customer base. The last chapter paper investigates the role of managers' networks for the acquisition of buyers in international markets. ; Cette thèse étudie la rencontre et l'appariement entre les entreprises françaises et leurs acheteurs sur les marchés internationaux. La constitution d'un portefeuille d'acheteurs à l'étranger est une composante cruciale de la croissance des exportateurs: les ventes vers de nouveaux acheteurs expliquent près de 50% des différences de taux de croissance à l'export entre les entreprises françaises à moyen terme. Pourtant, sur les marchés internationaux, l'éloignement géographique, les différences culturelles et institutionelles exacerbent les difficultés qu'ont les entreprise à trouver leurs acheteurs potentiels, Rauch (2001), Allen (2014) et Arkolakis (2010). Cette thèse étudie et quantifie l'effet des obstacles ...

This study is associated with the implementation of the government goods and services procurement policy at the General Hospital of Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan Province. In this case, the procurement refers to the procurement causing legal problems namely the procurement of surgical medical devices in fiscal year 2014. The theoretical structure of the research consists of the grand theory (government science), middle range theory (public policy theory), and applied theory (the implementation theory of Van Meter and Van Horn Public Policies). This study was employed qualitative research approach. In addition, the secondary data collection was carried out by using library research. Meanwhile, the primary data collection was conducted by applying interview techniques and observation that involved 10 research informants determined by purposive sampling technique. The results of this study were analyzed by the researcher by entailing six variables of Van Meter and Van Horn. The results of this study indicated that there was an alleged criminalization by Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (GISA) through the results of an audit on the procurement of surgical medical devices at the General Hospital of Sanggau regency in fiscal year 2014. Basically, the reason why the GISA stipulated the State losses is due to the emergence of an indication of a conspiracy among auction participants referring to the explanation of article 83, paragraph (1) the letter e on Presidential Regulation No. 70 Year 2012, without involving Procurement Service Unit (PSU) and/or the working groups of PSU, including the existence of contract value differences with the real value of provider purchases and VAT. The cause of the criminalization of the GISA audit results raising legal problems is presumably resulted from the fact that the audit carried out by GISA was not based on the GISA audit standards. Moreover it was not objective and unprofessional. The results demonstrated that the state losses determined by GISA were grounded on 1) the misinterpretation on the conspiracy indications in the explanation of article 83 paragraph (1), the letter e, Presidential Regulation No. 70 Year 2012 carried out by GISA; 2) incorrect assumptions which are not in accordance with the facts conveyed by GISA in the treatise of the audit results used as the basis for determining state losses; 3) GISA does not understand the mechanism and system for implementing procurement stipulated by the Government in which it should be carried out electronically/(e-procurement); 4) State Loss Calculation Method performed by GISA by finding out the difference between the value of the contract and the real value of the purchase of the provider based on the incorrect interpretation regarding the indications of conspiracy in the explanation of the article 83 paragraph (1) the letter e, Presidential Regulation No. 70 Year 2012. As a result, the State losses that GISA's stipulated become baseless; 5) The existence of the alleged GISA audit is carried out based on emotions, subjectivity, motives and certain interests. The researcher proposes several suggestions and the "SO&R by hari" model that can be analyzed by using 1 dimension/variable (variable policy standard, objective & resources) on new concepts obtained by the researcher regarding the Implementation of Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy, which is a simplification and refinement of the Van Meter and Van Horn theories on Public Policy Implementation, and a new framework which is specific and focused on the research related to government goods and services procurement.

BACKGROUND: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the EU in 2004 and had to increase tobacco excise rates. The aim of the paper is to explore the impact of tax policies on tobacco consumption, revenue and tobacco market in the Baltic countries. METHODS: Data on tobacco sales, tax rates, prices, smoking prevalence were taken from the EU and other databases and reports. Real (inflation and/or income adjusted) prices and tax rates were calculated. For most used indicators change over time was examined. RESULTS: Tobacco taxation policy had three similar stages in Baltic countries: 1) In 2004-2007 tax rates increased slowly and cigarettes became more affordable in years of economic boom. Tobacco consumption and smuggling out of Baltic countries was on the rise, which caused increase of tax-paid sales and revenues. 2) In 2008-2009, Baltic countries had to hike excise and VAT rates in years of economic recession, which caused sharp decline of cigarette affordability and consumption along with out-of-country smuggling which resulted in sales and revenue downfall in 2009-2010. 3) In 2011 economic situation improved and tobacco sales and revenue increased. The tobacco taxation policy in Baltic countries in 2004-2011 resulted in: 1) decline of total (licit + illicit) annual cigarette consumption by 30% both in Latvia and Lithuania, and by 10% in Estonia; 2) decline of daily smoking prevalence by 10-20%; 3) decline of the out-of-country smuggling; 4) almost no changes in volumes of smuggling into Lithuania and Estonia; 5) three-fold increase of the annual tobacco revenues in 3 countries combined. CONCLUSIONS: Decrease of tobacco affordability caused by tax hikes and economic recession was the key factor of tobacco consumption decline. Tobacco tax hike is a win-win policy, while in years of economic boom it has more fiscal benefits and in years of economic recession it has more public health benefits. ; АКТУАЛЬНОСТЬ: Латвия, Литва и Эстония присоединились к Европейскому Союзу в 2004 году, и это потребовало от них повышения акцизов на табак. Целью данной работы является анализ влияния налоговой политики на потребление табака, доходы бюджета и табачный рынок в Балтийских странах. МЕТОДЫ: Данные о продажах табачных изделий, уровнях налогов, ценах, доходах и распространенности курения были взяты из баз данных и отчетов. Индекс ценовой доступности табака вычислялся с учетом цен и ВНП. РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ: Политика налогообложения табака имела три подобных стадии в Балтийских странах: (1) В 2004-2007 годах налоги увеличивались медленно, и на фоне экономического роста сигареты становились более доступными. Потребление табака и контрабанда из Балтийских стран возрастали, что приводило к росту продаж и доходов бюджета. (2) В 2008-2009 годах, на фоне экономического кризиса, Балтийские страны были вынуждены резко повысить акцизы и НДС, что привело к резкому снижению доступности сигарет, их потребления и продаж, а также некоторому снижению акцизных поступлений в бюджет в 2009-2010 годах, хотя во всех странах эти поступления в 2010 году были выше, чем в 2007. (3) В 2011 году экономическая ситуация улучшилась, продажи табака и доходы бюджета возросли. Политика налогообложения табака в Балтийских странах в 2004-2011 годах привела к следующим результатам: (1) общее (легальное и нелегальное) потребление сигарет сократилось на 30% в Латвии и Литве и на 10% в Эстонии; (2) распространенность ежедневного курения снизилась на 10-20%; (3) контрабанда сигарет из Балтийских стран сократилась; (4) уровни контрабанды сигарет в Литву и Эстонию почти не изменились; (5)ежегодные поступления в бюджет от табачных акцизов для трех стран вместе взятых, выросли втрое. ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ: Снижение ценовой доступности табака, вызванное повышением налогов и экономической рецессией, стало ключевым фактором снижения потребления табака. Повышение табачных налогов является стратегией с двойной выгодой, при этом в годы экономического роста преобладающими являются финансовые выгоды, а в годы экономического спада – выгоды для общественного здоровья. КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА: табак; акцизный налог; Эстония; Латвия; Литва; Балтийские страны; ценовая доступность; распространенность курения; потребление табака; контрабанда табачных изделий. ; АКТУАЛЬНІСТЬ: Естонія, Латвія і Литва приєдналися до Європейського Союзу у 2004 році, що вимагало від них підвищення акцизів на тютюнові вироби. Метою цієї роботи є аналіз впливу політики оподаткування тютюну на його споживання, надходження до бюджету та ринок тютюнових виробів у країнах Балтії. МЕТОДИ: Дані стосовно продажів тютюнових виробів, податків, цін, надходжень і поширеності куріння брали з баз даних та звітів. Індекс цінової доступності тютюну обчислювали з урахуванням цін та ВНП. РЕЗУЛЬТАТИ: Політика оподаткування тютюну мала три подібні стадії у країнах Балтії: (1) У 2004-2007 роках податки зростали повільно, і сигарети ставали доступнішими на тлі економічного зростання. Споживання тютюну та контрабанда з країн Балтії зростали, що призводило до росту продажів та надходжень до бюджету. (2) В 2008-2009 роках під час економічної кризи країни Балтії були змушені суттєво підвищити акцизи та ПДВ, що призвело до зниження цінової доступності сигарет, їх споживання та продажів, а також до деякого зниження акцизних надходжень у 2009-2010 роках. Але в усіх країнах ці надходження 2010 року перевищували такі 2007 року. (3) В 2011 році економічна ситуація покращилася, продажі тютюну та надходження до бюджету зросли. Політика оподаткування тютюну в країнах Балтії в 2004-2011 роках призвела до таких результатів: (1) загальне (легальне та нелегальне) споживання сигарет скоротилося на 30% у Латвії й Литві та на 10% в Естонії; (2) поширеність щоденного куріння знизилася на 10-20%; (3) контрабанда сигарет з Балтійських країн зменшилася; (4) рівні контрабанди сигарет до Литви та Естонії майже не змінилися; (5) щорічні надходження від тютюнових акцизів до бюджетів трьох країн разом узятих, зросли втричі. ВИСНОВКИ: Зниження цінової доступності тютюну внаслідок підвищення акцизів та економічної кризи є ключовим фактором зниження споживання тютюну. Підвищення тютюнових податків є стратегією з подвійною вигодою, при цьому в роки економічного зростання переважають фінансові вигоди, а в роки економічної кризи – вигоди для громадського здоров'я. КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: тютюн; акцизний податок; Естонія; Латвія; Литва; країни Балтії; цінова доступність; поширеність куріння; споживання тютюну; контрабанда тютюнових виробів.

Der aktuelle Diskurs über zukunftsfähige Mobilitätssysteme beleuchtet fast ausschließlich urbane Kontexte und individuelle Verkehrsmittelentscheidungen. Doch was bedeutet "zukunftsfähige Mobilität", wenn man Kinder hat und im ländlichen Raum wohnt? Wie könnte, wie müsste der Alltag in solchen Mehrpersonenhaushalten ohne PKW bewältigt werden? Immerhin sind (je nach Definition) 30-60 % der Fläche Deutschlands als ländlich zu bezeichnen, und die Zukunft dieser Räume wird stark davon abhängen, inwiefern es ihnen gelingt, auch für junge Steuerzahler attraktiv genug zu sein. Diese Arbeit will dazu beitragen, ein umfassendes Verständnis der derzeitigen und der potenziellen Mobilitätsmuster von Familien in ländlichen Räumen zu erhalten. Dazu werden neben dem aktuellen Verkehrsverhalten auch zukünftige Mobilitätsstrategien angesichts stark steigender Verkehrskosten untersucht. Der Fokus liegt auf gemischt-geschlechtlichen Paarhaushalten, die mit mindestens einem minderjährigen Kind in einem gemeinsamen Haushalt in Deutschland leben. Wie verschiedene Studien zeigen, ist die rollentypische Arbeitsteilung ein zentraler Faktor, um Unterschiede im Verkehrsverhalten zwischen Männern und Frauen zu erklären. Daher werden verschiedene Modelle der Arbeitsteilung mit berücksichtigt. Eine Sekundäranalyse der Studie "Mobilität in Deutschland 2008" (n = 25.000 Haushalte) zeigt, inwieweit sich das aktuelle Verkehrsverhalten von Müttern und Vätern in ländlichen Räumen von a) Müttern und Vätern in städtischen Räumen und b) von Männern und Frauen aus Paarhaushalten ohne Kinder unterscheidet. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen und ergänzen den bisherigen Forschungsstand: Besitz und Nutzung von PKW sind in Haushalten mit Kind und in Haushalten ländlicher Räume jeweils besonders hoch. Dabei überwiegen rollentypische Arbeitsteilungsmuster und rollentypisches Verkehrsverhalten, mit einigen Variationen je nach Erwerbsumfang der Mütter. Darüber hinaus wurden leitfadengestützte, problemzentrierte Interviews mit Müttern und Vätern in zwei ländlichen Regionen (n = 28 Personen) durchgeführt, je zur Hälfte in Ost- und in Westdeutschland. Dabei stammt die Hälfte der Befragten bewusst aus Haushalten mit "nicht-traditionellem" Erwerbsmodell (Erwerbsumfang des Vaters entspricht dem der Mutter oder liegt darunter). Die Interviews zeigen, welche verkehrsbezogenen Aspekte sich aus Sicht dieser Eltern mit ihrem Eintritt in die Familienphase geändert haben – oder auch nicht. Zudem wird deutlich, wie Eltern in ländlichen Räumen zu ausgewählten mobilitätsbezogenen Dienstleistungen stehen. Schließlich wird eine Mobilitätsstrategie-Typologie entwickelt und begründet, die die zukünftig vorstellbaren Varianten einer "Verkehrsmittelbezogenen Bewältigung" sowie die entsprechend vorstellbaren Varianten einer "Wohnortbezogenen Bewältigung" von Eltern in ländlichen Räumen aufgreift und miteinander verschränkt. Alle fünf so identifizierten Mobilitätsstrategietypen werden durch entsprechende Empfehlungen für mobilitätsbezogene Angebote ergänzt. Während der quantitative Zugang Hinweise liefert für Häufigkeiten und typische Verteilungen im Verkehrsverhalten, werden über den qualitativen Zugang die zugrunde liegenden persönlichen Überzeugungen, Prioritäten und Aushandlungsprozesse aufgedeckt. Dabei zeigt sowohl die Sekundäranalyse als auch die Interviewstudie, dass es zwischen westdeutschen und ostdeutschen ländlichen Regionen deutliche Unterschiede gibt, was mit den jeweiligen Politiktraditionen, Infrastrukturen und Gewohnheiten vor der Wiedervereinigung zusammenhängen dürfte. Die vielfältigen rollentypischen Befunde verdeutlichen zudem, dass nach wie vor nicht darauf verzichtet werden kann, bei solchen verkehrsbezogenen Untersuchungen auch Geschlechterrollen mit zu berücksichtigen. Auf Basis der gewonnenen Ergebnisse werden schließlich weiterführende Forschungsansätze vorgeschlagen, gefolgt von Empfehlungen für zukunftsfähige Verkehrssysteme in ländlichen Räumen. ; At present, the discourse on sustainable mobility focuses for the most part on the urban context and individual decision-making. But what does "sustainable mobility" mean when you have children and live in rural areas? How can daily life in these multi-person households be managed without a car? After all, 30-60 % of Germany is regarded as rural (depending on which definition is used), and the future of these areas will highly depend on whether or not they succeed in being attractive for young tax payers. This thesis investigates the actual and potential mobility patterns of families in rural areas by focusing on mixed-sex couples with under-aged children living in joint households in Germany. It adds to the conclusions of other studies, which indicate that the division of paid and unpaid, formal and informal work between men and women is crucial for explaining gender differences in mobility behavior. A secondary data analysis of "Mobilität in Deutschland 2008", the latest German study on everyday mobility (n = 25,000 households), reveals the extent to which the mobility behavior of parents in rural areas differs a) from parents living in urban areas and b) from couples in rural areas without children. The findings confirm and complement the current state of research: Car usage is significantly higher in households with children and in rural households. Furthermore, a gender-specific division of work and transport-related behavior could be identified in most family households, with minor differentiations depending on the extent of employment of the mothers. In addition to the secondary data analysis, semi-structured problem-centered interviews with mothers and fathers in two rural areas (n = 28 individuals) were conducted. Half of the interviewees chosen are living in households with a "non-traditional" parental division of work (working hours of father are less than or equal to the mother's). Also, the interviewees were chosen to represent evenly those living in eastern and western parts of Germany. These interviews reveal which transport-related changes parents describe in their narrations of becoming a family. The study analyzes what parents in rural areas think of selected mobility services in reaction to significantly rising travel costs. Finally, a typology of rural parents mobility strategies is presented that combines parents "conceivable future means of transportation" and their "conceivable future changes in habitation" in this regard. In addition, recommendations for adequate mobility provisions are derived for each of the identified strategies. The mobility strategies vary according to criteria such as emotional (internal) coping intensity, willingness for environmental protection, attitude towards cars and division of work between partners. While the quantitative approach indicates the frequencies and distributions of rural parents' transport-related behaviors, the qualitative approach reveals the underlying personal beliefs, priorities and negotiation processes within a family. However, both analyses reveal that there are still major differences between the eastern and the western rural areas of Germany. These are likely linked to the diverse political cultures, infrastructures and mobility habits prior to German reunification. Likewise, the manifold gender differences emphasize the importance of gender when studying the mobility patterns of households. The thesis contributes to a comprehensive understanding of rural families daily transportation needs and future mobility strategies in the light of considerably rising mobility costs. It concludes with several suggestions for further research, followed by recommendations for sustainable rural mobility systems.

SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS 1. One of the major lessons from the current financial crisis refers to the systemic dimension of financial risk which had been almost completely neglected by bankers and supervisors in the pre-2007 years. 2. Accordingly, the most needed change in financial regulation, in order to avoid a repetition of such a crisis in the future, consists of influencing individual bank behaviour such that systemic risk is decreased. This objective is new and distinct from what Basle II was intended to achieve. 3. It is important, therefore, to evaluate proposed new regulatory instruments on the ground of whether or not they contribute to a reduction, or containment of systemic risk. We see two new regulatory measures of paramount importance: the introduction of a Systemic Risk Charge (SRC), and the implementation of a transparent bank resolution regime. Both measures complement each other, thus both have to be realized to be effective. 4. We propose a Systemic Risk Charge (SRC), a levy capturing the contribution of any individual bank to the overall systemic risk which is distinct from the institution's own default risk. The SRC is set up such that the more systemic risk a bank contributes, the higher is the cost it has to bear. Therefore, the SRC serves to internalize the cost of systemic risk which, up to now, was borne by the taxpayer. 5. Major details of our SRC refer to the use of debt that may be converted into equity when systemic risk threatens the stability of the banking system. Also, the SRC raises some revenues for government. 6. The SRC has to be compared to several bank levies currently debated. The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) does not directly address systemic risk and is therefore inferior to a SRC. Nevertheless, a FTT may offer the opportunity to subsidize on-exchange trading at the expense of off-exchange (over-the-counter, OTC) transactions, thereby enhancing financial market stability. The Financial Activity Tax (FAT) is similar to a VAT on financial services. It is the least adequate instrument among all instruments discussed above to limit systemic risk. 7. Bank resolution regime: No instrument to contain systemic risk can be effective unless the restructuring of bank debt, and the ensuing loss given default to creditors, is a real possibility. As the crisis has taught, bank restructuring is very difficult in light of contagion risk between major banks. We therefore need a regulatory procedure that allows winding down banks, even large banks, on short notice. Among other things, the procedure will require to distinguish systemically relevant exposures from those that are irrelevant. Only the former will be saved with government money, and it will then be the task of the supervisor to ensure a sufficient amount of nonsystemically relevant debt on the balance sheet of all banks. 8. Further issues discussed in this policy paper and its appendices refer to the necessity of a global level playing field, or the lack thereof, for these new regulatory measures; the convergence of our SRC proposal with what is expected to be long-term outcome of Basle III discussions; as well as the role of global imbalances.

The Colombian government seeks, through fiscal regulations, the massification of electronic invoicing in those responsible for VAT and consumption tax, forcing them to adopt this information system in their organizations; The present research work aims to analyze the influences of the adoption of electronic invoicing at the organizational level, which initially are not detected by managers, administrators and / or collaborators. In the development of the phases of the Multimethodology, with the application of a case study, the contributions for the adoption of electronic invoicing provided in various research studies at the national and international level are initially identified and classified into the strategic, transactional, informational and transformational of an organization; Subsequently, assessment metrics are identified at the organizational level provided by evaluation models of information systems, which are associated with the contributions detected by adoption of electronic invoicing and, finally, a survey-type questionnaire with Likert scale parameters is structured and applied to 72 employees of an entity. The answers provided were tabulated and analyzed, making it possible to determine that the adoption of electronic invoicing does influence the organization at a strategic, informational, transactional and transformational level. ; El gobierno colombiano busca por medio de normatividad fiscal, la masificación de la facturación electrónica en los responsables de IVA e impuesto al consumo, obligándolos a adoptar este sistema de información en sus organizaciones. El presente trabajo de grado tiene como objetivo analizar las influencias que aporta la adopción de la facturación electrónica en el nivel organizacional; los cuales inicialmente no son detectados por gerentes, administradores y/o colaboradores. En el desarrollo de las fases de la Multimetodología, con la aplicación de un estudio de caso, inicialmente se identifican las contribuciones por adopción de facturación electrónica aportados en diversos estudios de investigación a nivel nacional e internacional y se clasifican en las dimensiones estratégica, transaccional, informacional y transformacional de una organización. Posteriormente se identifican métricas de valoración a nivel organizacional aportados por modelos de evaluación de sistemas de información, los cuales se asocian a las contribuciones detectados por adopción de facturación electrónica y finalmente se estructura un cuestionario tipo encuesta con parámetros de escala de Likert y se aplica a 72 colaboradores de una entidad. Las respuestas aportadas, se tabularon y analizaron permitiendo determinar que la adopción de la facturación electrónica si genera influencias en la organización a nivel estratégico, informacional, transaccional y transformacional. ; Maestría

That's the lesson to take from this: An increasing number of England's pothole-plagued roads will be completely resurfaced, ministers have said as councils are handed £8.3 billion for repairs.Councils will be urged to use the money to fund long-term improvements, including full-scale resurfacing, rather than quick fix repairs as part of a new decade-long funding settlement.To ensure this, for the first time, the cash will come with a condition that local authorities publish resurfacing plans every quarter, so motorists can hold them to account.The revenue raised from charging people to use the roads is vastly greater than the costs of building and or repairing roads. So there's our first clue - actually private roads would cost less and also be better maintained because there wouldn't be that leakage of some 60% (our guess) of the revenue into other things that usefully buy votes. Government's an inefficient method of providing roads that is.Secondly, government is simply a lousy way of maintaining anything. For maintenance never does gain political presence or visibility. Routine patching of holes doesn't make political careers - perhaps it ought to but it doesn't. Big plans to splash the cash do make careers - as here. So, doing the plodding boringness that needs to be done isn't done by politics. A corollary here is that we've already got methods for voters to hold local authorities to account. Called elections. And if we're suggesting that these don't work in doing so then we've got to call our basic manner of democracy into question, don't we? The third issue here - that unseen that the economist should look for - is that if we've just proven that governments are grossly inefficient providers of roads themselves, let alone maintenance, then what else is currently run by government and politics that badly? What else should we be privatising so that we can have the same at a lesser cost, or more for the same cash? It really is true that fuel duty (alone, before VAT and other such taxes) is £25 billion a year, spending on roads is about £12 billion. Private roads would be cheaper that is, as even the most vibrant capitalism won't soak that much in profit off the revenues. So, what else also meets this standard of currently being done grossly inefficiently - so that we can make ourselves richer by not doing it through the medium of government and politics?

National interests, traditionally expressed in terms of net balances, dominated the negotiations on the financial framework of the European Union for 2007–2013 and were crucial in determining only incremental reforms of the EU budget. Although the strategy based on maximising EU financial support enables Lithuania to receive significant financial allocations from the EU budget in 2007–2013, its size is expected to decrease during the period of next financial framework. In addition, the EU budget programmes unfit to the Lithuanian contexts might have negative repercussions to the economy of the country. These problems determine the necessity to discuss a different strategy for the EU budget review in 2008–2009 and the negotiations on next financial framework.In this article we raise a hypothesis that a more beneficial strategy for Lithuania would be to support EU policies and programmes which would bring the added value to the whole EU while also stressing the specific Lithuanian interests related to these policies and programmes. The conceptual framework used to check the hypothesis consists of two stages. First, the objectives of the EU budget and major tools to implement them were indicated drawing from provisions of the EU Treaties (in line with the changes introduced by the Lisbon Reform Treaty), preferences of EU citizens, the fiscal federalism theory and evaluations of EU policies and programmes. Second, the economic, social and political impact of the EU budget (reformed in the way described in the first stage of the analysis) on Lithuania was analysed.The findings of the article provide indefinite but clear support to the hypothesis. According to the political and economic criteria indicated above, the Common Agricultural Policy should seek to implement two goals, namely, increasing competitiveness of the EU agricultural sector and providing public goods (environment, landscape, animal welfare etc.). Such a reform would be more beneficial to Lithuania in comparison to the current policy, however, a specific interest of Lithuania is to assure that it is accompanied by strong rural development policy, which would assure financial support to rural areas during the period of re-structuring of the agricultural sector.The Cohesion policy should also be radically reformed by concentrating financial support only to the least developed regions and countries of the EU and making its connection to the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy looser. Again, such a reform would be beneficial to Lithuania, because it would allow putting the cohesion support more in line with national investment needs and priorities and enable developing national planning capacities.Finally, the funds saved as a consequence of the reforms of the CAP and Cohesion Policy should be allocated to four groups of priorities, namely, Lisbon Strategy goals, energy, climate change and environment, justice, liberty and security and external relations. Such re-allocation would serve Lithuanian interests well, provided that its specific interests – adequate funding to trans-European transport and energy infrastructure, external border protection and European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument as well as research and development programmes (including temporary preferential treatment of less developed Member States) – would be taken into consideration.In addition to the major objective of the article, the positions of other Member States as regards EU budget expenses and the impact of the own resources system on Lithuania were also examined in the article.The analysis of other Member States' positions on the EU budget resulted in rather mixed prospects for the reform described above. On the one hand, virtually all Member States support more funding for new priorities falling in the four categories indicated in this article. On the other hand, only a handful Member States endorse a necessary step into this direction – the reduction in the funding levels of the CAP and Cohesion policy. In the context of very unlikely increase in the total EU budget expenditure due to net payers' resistance, it is still to be seen whether the remaining Member States will decide to support the EU budget which promotes the objectives beneficial to the whole EU or they will remain strongly bound to their national interests on this issue.As concerns the impact of the own resources system on Lithuania, it is concluded that the introduction of the EU tax would not benefit Lithuania and the EU, because financial contributions from the Member States would vary a lot. However, the VAT resources and all corrections and rebates should be abolished. ; Nacionaliniai interesai (dažnai išreiškiami grynuoju balansu – išmokų ir įmokų į Europos Sąjungos biudžetą skirtumu) vyravo derybose dėl 2007–2013 metų ES finansinės perspektyvos ir nulėmė tik inkrementines biudžeto reformas. Šiame straipsnyje keliama hipotezė, kad ES biudžeto peržiūroje 2008–2009 metais ir derybose dėl kitos finansinės perspektyvos naudingesnė Lietuvai strategija yra remti visai ES naudingas biudžeto politikas ir programas, kartu pabrėžiant su jomis susijusius specifinius Lietuvos interesus.Hipotezė tikrinama atliekant dviejų etapų analizę. Pirma, remiantis ES sutarčių (darant prielaidą, kad Lisabonos sutartis bus sėkmingai ratifikuota1) nuostatomis, ES piliečių nuomone, fiskalinio federalizmo principais ir ES politikų vertinimais, prognozuojama, kokie turėtų būti ES biudžeto tikslai ir pagrindiniai instrumentai. Antra, atliekant politikos alternatyvų analizę, tiriamas pagal išskirtus tikslus ir instrumentus reformuoto biudžeto poveikis Lietuvai ir specifiniai Lietuvos interesai vykdant tokią biudžeto reformą. Analizė paremia keliamą hipotezę, tačiau kartu pabrėžia būtinybę atlikti daugiau tyrimų tiek siekiant nustatyti ES biudžeto politikų tikslus ir įgyvendinimo instrumentus, tiek įvertinti ES biudžeto programų poveikį Lietuvai.Straipsnyje taip pat apžvelgiamas ES biudžeto peržiūros procesas ir šalių narių interesai biudžeto išlaidų atžvilgiu bei biudžeto pajamų sistemos reformos poveikis Lietuvai.

Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über das Kindschaftsrecht Japans aus rechts­vergleichender Sicht. Der Beitrag beginnt mit einem kurzen historischen Abriss über die Entwick­lung des japanischen Familien­rechts, der das sogenannte "Haus­system" (ie-seido) vorstellt, das in dem Zivilgesetz (ZG) in der Fassung von 1898 eine legislative Anerkennung fand. Das "Haus" (ie) bestand im Sinne einer "Familien­einheit" aus einer Blutsverwandtschaft mehrerer Generationen und trug einen einheitlichen Familien­namen. Der "Haus­herr" (koshu) hatte die "haus­herrliche Ge­walt" in allen die Familie betreffenden Angelegenheiten. Dieses patriarchalische System war jedoch mit der Nachkriegsverfassung von 1946 unvereinbar, die unter anderem die Würde des Individuums und die Gleich­berech­tigung von Mann und Frau festschreibt. Im Jahre 1947 wurde deshalb der familien- und erbrechtliche Teil des ZG vollständig reformiert. Seit jener grundlegenden Novellierung ist es aber nur zu punktuellen weiteren Reformen gekommen, was heute nament­lich im Bereich des Kindschaftsrechts Probleme aufwirft.So wurden auch nach der Abschaffung des Haussystems im Familienregister (koseki) dessen Grundideen aufrechterhalten. Das "Haus" wurde durch die Familieneinheit mit dem­selben Familiennamen ersetzt. In das Familienregister werden beispielsweise keine Ausländer aufgenommen, und der Nachname des ausländi­schen Ehegatten ist nicht als Familienname wählbar, was als Ungleichbehandlung von In- und Ausländern kritisiert wird. Ein weiterer Kritikpunkt ist, dass im Familienregister nach wie vor die gesamten Angelegenheiten der japani­schen Familienangehörigen ohne Rücksicht auf den Schutz von deren Privatsphäre eingetragen werden. Das Register war lange Zeit für jeden frei zugänglich. Jüngste Einschränkungen der Einsehbarkeit gewähren noch immer keinen hinreichenden Schutz. Es war deshalb vielen Japanern lange Zeit ein wichtiges Anliegen, das Familienregister "sauber" zu halten, was zu zahlreichen fehlerhaften Meldungen führte, etwa bezüglich der "Ehelichkeit" eines tatsächlich angenommenen Kindes.Ein weiterer Problembereich im japanischen Abstammungsrecht ist die Ehelichkeits­vermutung und deren Anfechtung. Wird ein Kind während der Ehe der Mutter empfangen, wird die Vaterschaft des Ehe­mannes vermutet, auch wenn tatsächlich ein Dritter der leibliche Vater ist. Die Eintragung des Kindes im Familienregister als "eheliches" kann nur im Wege einer Ehelichkeitsanfechtung korrigiert werden, zu der aber ausschließlich der Ehemann der Mutter als rechtlicher Vater berechtigt ist. Klagt dieser nicht fristgemäß auf Anfechtung, ist seine Vaterschaft kaum noch zu widerlegen. Auch im Bereich des Sorgerechts war lange ein Reformdefizit zu beobachten. Das japanische Kindschafts­recht ist, anders als das deutsche, nach wie vor an die Ehelichkeit gebunden. Das Sorgerecht wird nur solange von beiden Eltern gemeinsam getragen, wie sie verheiratet sind, und wird anlässlich der Ehescheidung auf den Vater oder die Mutter übertragen, die dann alleine sorgeberechtigt sind. Eine nachträgliche Abände­rung des Sorgeberechtigten ist möglich, er­folgt grundsätzlich aber unter Beachtung des Kontinuitätsgrundsatzes. Damit besteht die Gefahr, dass ein Elternteil, der das Kind unter Beeinträchtigung des Sorge­rechts des anderen Elternteils illegal entführt hat, trotzdem das Sorge­recht erhält oder bestätigt bekommt, wenn sich das Kind bereits in die neue Umgebung ein­gelebt hat. Diese Rechtslage bei besonders problematisch in einer grenzüberschreitenden Kindes­entführung nach Japan. Japans Ratifikation des Haager Kindesentführungsübereinkommens am 1. April 2014 soll hier Abhilfe schaffen. Die jahrzehntelange erbrechtliche Benachteiligung nichtehelicher Kinder hat der japanische Gesetzgeber jüngst korrigiert. Nach einer bahnbrechenden Entscheidung des Obersten Gerichtshofes im Jahr 2013 ist eine erbrechtliche Gleichstellung ehelicher und nichtehelicher Kinder nunmehr durch eine aktuelle Novellierung des Art. 900 ZG verwirklicht worden. Diese verschiedenen kleineren Reformen im japanischen Kindschaftsrecht geben der Verfasserin Anlass zur Hoffnung auf weitere dynamische Änderungen.(Die Redaktion) ; This paper gives an overview of Japanese law on parent and child relations from a comparative perspective. It begins with a short historical outline of the development of Japanese law on parents and children, introducing the 'family system' (ie-seido) which became legally anchored in the Civil Code (CC) in its version of 1898. The 'family' (ie) as a 'family unit' consisted of several generations related by blood and carrying the same family name. The 'head of the family' (koshu) had absolute power in all family-related matters.However, this patriarchal system was inconsistent with the Constitution of 1946 that stipulated human dignity as well as gender equality, among other rights. Therefore, in 1947, those parts of the CC concerned with family law and the law of succession were substantially revised. The fact that since then only few amendments have been made to the law now leads to problems, specifically in terms of the law concerning parent and child relations.Even after the 'family system' had been abolished, its basic principles were upheld in the family register (koseki). The 'family' was replaced by the family unit with the same family name. For instance, foreigners are not added to the register, and it is impossible to select the last name of a non-Japanese spouse as a family name. This has been criticized as discrimination of foreigners. A further point of criticism is the fact that all matters of Japanese family members are still entered into the family register irrespective of protection of privacy. The register has been open to the public for a long time. Recent restrictions on access to the register still fall short of providing the necessary level of protection. It has therefore been a concern for many Japanese to keep their register 'clean,' leading to numerous incorrect statements – for example, regarding the 'legitimacy' of children that in reality had been adopted from their actual parents.Another set of issues in the Japanese law of descent concerns the presumption of legitimacy and contesting legitimacy. If a child is conceived while the mother is married, the fatherhood of the husband is presumed even if a third person is the actual biological father. The recognition as 'legitimate' by the family register can only be revised by contesting legitimacy, a legal act to which only the husband of the mother as the legal father is entitled. If the legal father refrains from contesting legitimacy within the prescribed time limit, there is only a scant chance that his fatherhood can be disproved.Likewise, reform deficits regarding the right of custody have long been observed. The Japanese law of parent and child relations is, in contrast to German law, linked to the legitimacy of the child. The right of custody is only jointly held by both parents as long as they are married, and is conferred to one of them in case of a divorce. A subsequent change of the person having custody of the child is possible, though it is realized by taking into account the basic principle of continuity. Therefore, there is the danger that a parent who has illegally abducted the child in violation of the right of custody of the other parent may be conferred the right of custody or may be confirmed in his or her right if the child has already got used to its new environment. This legal situation is especially problematic in cases of cross-border child abduction to Japan. Japan's accession to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction on 1 April 2014 is intended to remedy this situation.After decades of discrimination of illegitimate children in inheritance law, the Japanese legislator has recently adapted the relevant provisions. Following a groundbreaking decision of the Japanese Supreme Court in 2013, equal treatment of legitimate and illegitimate children under inheritance law has been realized by an amendment of Art. 900 CC. These various small-scale reforms in the Japanese law on parent and child relations give the author reasons to hope for further dynamic changes.(The Editors)

The Øresund Traffic Forecast Model was designed to forecast impacts of the fixed link crossing Øresund. The link connects the metropolitan area of Copenhagen with Malmö – the third largest city in Sweden. The link provides a direct rail and car connection between the two city-centres, previously only served by fast passenger boats. The latter was not connected to the rail network of Copenhagen, and parking facilities in Copenhagen near the boat was few and expensive. On the other hand several other ferry-lines connected other parts of the Copenhagen Region with the southern Sweden. Accordingly, the fixed link improved the connection between the two regions significantly – but to a varying extent for different parts of the region. The fixed link also improved the infrastructure for longer trips between the Scandinavian Peninsula and the European Continent. However, in this respect the link compete with quite a number of ferry links. From a modelling point of view, the task was difficult since the choice set included many overlapping routes and (sub-) mode-choices. For some trips, the link constitutes a significant improvement. But the link connects two countries, where culture, language and economy (e.g. labour legislation) provide a potential barrier for travel. Economic differences may also results in additional trips, e.g. shopping trips due to different VAT- and tax-levels on different goods. To model this context, tenders were invited for a large-scale traffic model project. The resulting model was in many respects state-of-the-art: A utility-based model (nested logit) was estimated from joint RP- and SP-datasets collected specifically for the study. Several sub-models (segments) were estimated for short- and long trips, and for different trip purposes. In addition, both passenger and freight traffic were described by different (sub) models. However, in reality the model failed to describe several impacts of the fixed link (as it turned out after the link opened). Especially, the model failed to describe the competition between fast boats and the rail link, and the magnitude of the social and economic barriers for short-distance traffic. Since the model itself is described in Øresundskonsortiet (2000) its structure is only briefly described in section 2 of the present paper. Accordingly, the main focus is on lessons learned from the model project, starting with a short description of the forecast results versus actual traffic in section 3. Section 4 describes different modelling issues that are considered as the main problem with conventional models. Finally, section 5 sums up the conclusions and provide some guidelines for future models of projects that involve a mixture of regional and international (long-distance) traffic.

"There is a large body of cross-national research on attitudes towards maternal employment. However, little cross-national studies exist mapping attitudes towards father's involvement and how they evolve over time. The aim of this paper is to enhance our understanding of the factors that relate to the attitudes towards father's involvement by providing a rich comparison over time, country and inter-country factors by using the European Value Survey that included the following statement in 1999 and 2008-2009: In general, fathers are as well suited to look after their children as mothers. Special focus will be put on the influence of the welfare regime, age and gender. A descriptive analysis over time with age is given, to identify an intra-cohort change or cohort replacement, to explain the change of attitudes. Overall, most countries do not experience a significant absolute shift, only Great Britain, France and Spain become more supportive. Furthermore, attitudes towards fathers' involvement seem to fit the standard welfare typology. However, Spain and Poland were much more progressive than expected. The cohort replacement effect seems to be prevalent in Spain and France. Education level and having children only seem to be of influence in the attitude formation by women." (author's abstract)