Suchergebnisse

The economy of the Ukrainian SSR and the western region, according to most indicators, continued to develop on its own basis, solving ordinary socio-political and socio-economic challenges. In 1960-1980s of the twentieth century the two types of reproduction were combined: extensive sources of growth (exploitation of new natural and labour resources), and intensive ones which improved production structure and management system. Western region of the republic developed rapidly, engineering and instrumentation grew, as well as oil and gas and chemical industries, together with consumer goods and food industry, local industry. However, low quality, inadequate technologies reduced the positive impact of these industries on economic efficiency. In addition, other problems arose. As a result tasks of economic development planned by the third Programme of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union turned out to be unfulfilled. Despite a slight increase in industrial growth its rate declined. A large-scale restructuring of the economy on resource conservation, introduction of new technologies began in industrialized countries. Scientific progress in the USSR stalled. It should be noted that attempts to improve the situation were done over and over, but they were not in the economic and scientific spheres but in the political one. The crisis in industry and agriculture of the USSR in the second half of 1980s went far beyond purely production problems, took on socio-economic character and became threatening as for the provision of the country with necessary goods and food, creating social tension. In the late 1980s food consumption per capita decreased, and deficit in manufactured goods increased. Investing activities of villages almost stopped. Employees from the village began to massively lose stable jobs and reliable source of income. The decline in agricultural production led to idle capacity of the food and consumer goods industry, decline in employment. Executives and government officials, fearful of losing power over the peasants showed negative attitude to transformations in village households. Violation of labor discipline and theft of public property became widely spread due to a relentless deterioration of economic indicators. ; Економіка Української РСР і західного регіону за більшістю показників продовжувала розвиватися на власній основі, розв'язуючи чергові суспільно-політичні та соціально-економічні завдання. У 60 – 80-х роках ХХ ст. поєднувалися два типи відтворення: екстенсивних джерел зростання (експлуатація нових природних багатств, трудових ресурсів) та інтенсивних, що вдосконалювало структуру виробництва і систему управління. Західний регіон республіки розвивався прискореними темпами, зростали машинобудування та приладобудування, нафтогазовидобувна і хімічна промисловість, а також легка та харчова індустрія, місцева промисловість. Проте низький рівень їх якості, недосконалість технологій знижували позитивний вплив цих галузей на економічну ефективність. Крім того, постали й інші проблеми, внаслідок чого виявилися невиконаними завдання з розвитку економіки, заплановані третьою Програмою КПРС. Незважаючи на деяке збільшення масштабів промислового зростання, темпи його знижувалися. У промислово розвинених країнах світу почалася масштабна структурна перебудова економіки щодо ре- сурсозбереження, впровадження новітніх технологій. У СРСР науково-технічний прогрес загальмувався. Необхідно зазначити, що спроби змінити ситуацію на краще робили неодноразово, але вони знаходилися не стільки в економічній та науковій сфері, скільки у політичній. Криза в промисловості і сільськогосподарському виробництві СРСР у другій половині 1980-х років виходила за рамки суто виробничих проблем, набувала соціально-економічного характеру й ставала загрозливою щодо забезпечення країни необхідними товарами і продовольством, створювала соціальну напруженість. Наприкінці 80-х років ХХ ст. знизилось споживання продуктів харчування на душу населення, зріс дефіцит на промтовари. Майже припинялася інвестиційна діяльність села. Працівники села почали масово втрачати стабільні місця роботи й надійні джерела прибутку. Скорочення обсягів виробництва сільгосппродукції призводило до простоювання потужностей підприємств харчової і легкої галузі, зниження зайнятості. Негативне ставлення до трансформаційних процесів у селі демонстрували керівники господарств і державні службовці, побоюючись втратити владу над селянами. Як наслідок – в умовах невпинного погіршення економічних показників набувало поширення порушення трудової дисципліни, розкрадання суспільного майна. ; Економіка Української РСР і західного регіону за більшістю показників продовжувала розвиватися на власній основі, розв'язуючи чергові суспільно-політичні та соціально-економічні завдання. У 60 – 80-х роках ХХ ст. поєднувалися два типи відтворення: екстенсивних джерел зростання (експлуатація нових природних багатств, трудових ресурсів) та інтенсивних, що вдосконалювало структуру виробництва і систему управління. Західний регіон республіки розвивався прискореними темпами, зростали машинобудування та приладобудування, нафтогазовидобувна і хімічна промисловість, а також легка та харчова індустрія, місцева промисловість. Проте низький рівень їх якості, недосконалість технологій знижували позитивний вплив цих галузей на економічну ефективність. Крім того, постали й інші проблеми, внаслідок чого виявилися невиконаними завдання з розвитку економіки, заплановані третьою Програмою КПРС. Незважаючи на деяке збільшення масштабів промислового зростання, темпи його знижувалися. У промислово розвинених країнах світу почалася масштабна структурна перебудова економіки щодо ре- сурсозбереження, впровадження новітніх технологій. У СРСР науково-технічний прогрес загальмувався. Необхідно зазначити, що спроби змінити ситуацію на краще робили неодноразово, але вони знаходилися не стільки в економічній та науковій сфері, скільки у політичній. Криза в промисловості і сільськогосподарському виробництві СРСР у другій половині 1980-х років виходила за рамки суто виробничих проблем, набувала соціально-економічного характеру й ставала загрозливою щодо забезпечення країни необхідними товарами і продовольством, створювала соціальну напруженість. Наприкінці 80-х років ХХ ст. знизилось споживання продуктів харчування на душу населення, зріс дефіцит на промтовари. Майже припинялася інвестиційна діяльність села. Працівники села почали масово втрачати стабільні місця роботи й надійні джерела прибутку. Скорочення обсягів виробництва сільгосппродукції призводило до простоювання потужностей підприємств харчової і легкої галузі, зниження зайнятості. Негативне ставлення до трансформаційних процесів у селі демонстрували керівники господарств і державні службовці, побоюючись втратити владу над селянами. Як наслідок – в умовах невпинного погіршення економічних показників набувало поширення порушення трудової дисципліни, розкрадання суспільного майна.

This document consists of the analysis of the social and economic impacts produced by the activities and results of the LIFE GAIN project carried out by COMSA. The project tries to enhance the valorisation of an industrial waste product, such as the black slag derived from the steel production, using it in the railway foundations layers. As a result it will improve the mechanical properties of the track and clearly reduce the environmental impact of the track maintenance, renewal and construction. The LIFE GAIN is carried out in a context where the eco-friendly activities are promoted by the European Union since it is important to reduce the waste production and the social and environmental impact that it has. With this objective, this project has been presented to solve the problem of Steel Furnace Slag (SFS), which actually is an important waste product in the whole Europe. With this analysis we have tried to conclude which is the impact of the project on the society and to evaluate the social and economic impacts that the project actions will have in the influence zone of the activities. Likewise, we also try to gain knowledge about the social opinion of a project like that, since nowadays it's important to include the population feedback in the companies' actions and strategies to improve their results and turnover. In the first place, with the aim to make clear the objectives and the previous research and activities of the LIFE GAIN project, a brief introduction has been done. This introduction consists of the description of the context and objectives of the project and the state of the art of the SFS. Furthermore, the properties and the previous tests done in the investigation of the valorised product (SFS-RAIL) are detailed in this point to have an idea about the commercialized product. Secondly, it is presented the diagnosis of the studied area, which describes and characterizes different topics of the project's influence zone. In this chapter we have analysed the territory and demography of the area since it is an important issue to quantify and evaluate the possible impact of the project in the society and the surrounding environment. A delimitation of the territory influenced by the project has been necessary to analyse the local impact. Moreover, the description of the structure, distribution and evolution of the population affected has been done to get a better characterization of the region inhabitants. In addition, we have analysed the active population that we could find in the area, which will be a priori the most affected group by the generation of economic activity because of the project actions. In addition, the local business network has been studied in order to quantify the contribution of each industrial sector in the economic activity of the region and bear out the importance of the siderurgy sector in the two areas of analysis. In the same way, the labour mobility patterns of the population in the influence zone are analysed to identify the main poles of attraction. It is important to characterize the situation of the industry, since the new industrial activity created by the project could modify this flow of daily trips or enhance the trends if it is in line with them. Furthermore, in this chapter we have carried out an anonymous survey to the population of the region to know their opinion about the project analysed since it is undeniable the relation between the activity of a company and the society. Nowadays, it's important to establish a dynamic interaction with the different social agents, where its expectations and opinions are included in the company strategies. The information flows resulting from this new dynamics are very precious actives for the company since it will provide a higher sensitivity with the surrounding area, helping to anticipate risks and to get more profit from the opportunities that may arise. To complete this section, a more detailed analysis of the siderurgy industry of the project and field test influence zone has been carried out. During this analysis we have characterised and delimitated the siderurgy sector of Asturias and Catalonia and its economic contribution in the whole country concluding that both of them are two of the most important Spanish siderurgy areas. The waste production of the sector and the waste recycling techniques are also described since it will be necessary to quantify and evaluate the innovations introduced by the project and how it will affect to the amount of waste landfilled and to the different uses that black slag have in the present. Continuing with the scheme of the analysis, the different impacts of the project and its consequences in the topics explained above have been described in the next chapter. We have summarized the main impacts in different topics such as the impact of the foreseen investment, the impact of the increase of steel slag recycling, the impact of the decrease of industrial waste, the impact of the reduction of quarries activity and the impact of the increase of jobs. A relation and the consequences in the topics of the previous chapters have been established for the correct evaluation of the impacts. To finish with the analysis, all the conclusions extracted from the different chapters of the evaluation of the project have been presented summarized in a list. Some positive results derived from the implementation of the project have been identified, which allow us to conclude that this project is interesting in both social and economic terms.

There is presented social and political situation inUkraineat the end of the XIXth century. It is established that one of the founders of the Ukrainian school of art criticism was G. Pavlutskiy. There is viewed the historiography of the investigation namely works by N. Krasnitskaya, V. Afanasieva, O. Storchaiy, N. Nimenko,E. Kolesnik, A. Puchkov, O. Denisenko, I. Udris and others.It is established that G. Pavlutskiy was born on the 19th of January1861 inKiev, he was graduated from the University by St. Vladimir. He got his Doctor's degree in the theory and history of Art inDortmundUniversityin some time.There is characterized the scientific heritage by G. Pavlutskiy, which can be divided into three parts: antique art (especially architecture), Ukrainian art (mainly architecture), world and modern art (from antique to new futurism). There established that his first student publication "Kornelia Tacita "Dialogue about the orators: To the question of authors "Talks about orators" saw the world on the pages of "University bulletin".There is analyzed the pedeagogical activity by G. Pavlutskiy inKievschool of art by M. Murashka andKievUniversityby St. Vladimir. There is established that the subjects that were delivered by the scientist: the course of antique culture was enriched with the lectures from Byzantine Empire and Europe history of Middle Ages and Renaissance epochs, Russian and neoclassic art as well as national art of Ukraine.It is proved that inKievUniversity G. Pavlutskiy became the first representative of the university science, who basing on his knowledge and experience fully concentrated scientific interests on the investigation of Ukrainian image formation.There presented an active participation of the scientist in the work of the ХІ Archaeological Congress inKiev. It is established that from this time the sphere of the researcher's scientific interests is enlarging cardinally and Ukrainian architecture becomes the basic topic of his scientific works, especially wooden church architecture. It's marked that the researcher investigated and analyzed the objects of churches inKiev,Cherkassy, Volinji and Podilya in the ХVІІ at the beginning of the ХІХ centuries. Among them wooden and stone sacral buildings in Vinnitsya, Polonogo, Chudunov, Tripillija, Tarasha and many other Ukrainian cities and villages.It is marked that G. Pavlutskiy was involved into the work of writing multivolumed "The History of Russian Art" where his article "Evolution of Byzantia forms in Kiev and Chernigiv Rus" was published and the part which was dedicated to the Ukrainian architecture of the ХVІІ – ХVІІІ centuries, which the author named "Baroque of Ukraine".It is proved that G. Pavlutskiy logically reflects the point that international styles, especially Byzantine and Baroque styles, getting into the cultural surrounding of east Europe, were reconsidered by local masters in national spirits, the result of which were cultural and artistic facts.It is established that the researcher showed some interest to the history of Byzantine art: he highlighted a great role ofConstantinoplein the process of creative synthesizing of different methods and ways worked out in the art schools of Christian East, late antiquity which laid down the foundations of original Byzantine style. It is shown that the attitude of G. Pavlutskiy to modern art processes namely cubism and new futurism.There characterized the participation of G. Pavlutskiy in the work of many public organizations of scientific, cultural and public trends: Historical Association of Nestor's Chronicles, Moscow Archeological Association, Kiev Artists' Association, the Association of Ukrainian plastic workers.There viewed the activity by G. Pavlutskiy in the organization of Ukrainian national and cultural establishments and High Schools, namely The Ukrainian Academy of Art, The Ukrainian National University, Kiev State University, historical and philology department of Ukrainian Academy of Science. It is marked the scientist's activity concerning the adaptation of Ukrainian language into the sphere of High Education.There showed the scientist's work which was done for the sake of preserving ancient memorials ofUkraineand returning to the cultural values, especially formRussiatoUkraine. It is marked that G. Pavlutskiy as a member of interdepartmental "Cultural commission under Ukrainian World delegation" called for transmission toUkrainenot only cultural and historical memorials but also general cultural acquisitions of Russian Empire which were made by common labour of all nations.There established that G. Pavlutskiy died on the 15th of March 1924 when he was64 inKiev. There characterized his latest work, which was dedicated to the investigation of history of Ukrainian ornament that was published in 1926. There defined the structure of the work: the author after general description of the early period of the Ukrainian ornament in a separate parts views "feral ornament", "geometrical ornament", "ornament of the Renaissance" and adds that the material finishes at the ХVІІІ century.There also viewed G. Pavlutskiy's contribution into the establishment and the development of the domestic art criticism. It is marked some interest not only for contemporary researches but also for all nationally oriented successors as a unique example of service to the concern of universal values. ; В статье рассматривается жизненный и творческий путь выдающегося украинского искусствоведа Г. Павлуцкого. Освещены основные направления научной и преподавательской деятельности ученого, его способствование развитию национального образования в Украине. Установлены приоритетные направления его общественной работы в культурологическом пространстве Украины, основные научные идеи освещенные в наиболее значительных работах. Доказан значительный вклад исследователя в развитие отечественного искусствоведения. ; У статті розглядається життєвий та творчий шлях українського мистецтвознавця Г. Павлуцького. Висвітлено основні напрямки наукової та викладацької діяльності вченого, його сприяння розвитку національної освіти в Україні. Встановлено пріоритетні спрямування його громадської роботи в культурологічному просторі України, основні наукові ідеї висвітлені у найбільш значущих працях. Доведено значний внесок дослідника у розвиток вітчизняного мистецтвознавства.

Fermo restando l'iter della tradizione romanistica nei concetti e nella terminologia utilizzata, il lavoro si sviluppa cercando di capire quanto di questa tradizione - strettamente legata ai valori di persona e di bene comune - sia rimasto nelle infinite modifiche legislative intervenute. L'indagine viene svolta attraverso la presentazione, nei tre capitoli in cui si articola l'elaborato, di tre corrispondenti scenari. Nel primo capitolo, dove lo scenario prospettato è quello storico-giuridico, dopo aver esposto i principi in tema di diritto del lavoro ed esaminato i rapporti di lavoro nel passato storico fino alla nascita dell'impresa moderna in relazione al concetto di persona, l'analisi si incentra sulle origini e sullo sviluppo delle categorie giuridiche di persona, di bene comune e di utilitarismo, che la tradizione romanistica ci ha trasmesso. Queste tre categorie logico-giuridiche rappresentano la linea di fondo dell'elaborato, gli itinera che ne hanno accompagnato lo svolgimento. È con esse che, nel secondo capitolo, si affronta lo studio delle innovazioni tecnologiche introdotte nel mondo del lavoro e della produzione economica (informatizzazione e robotizzazione del sistema produttivo e di mercato). Il nuovo scenario socio-culturale che si delinea assegna, dunque, un ruolo strategico all'elemento tecnologico in tutti i suoi aspetti. Le grandi trasformazioni avvenute, sia nella struttura sociale, per effetto dei mutamenti demografici e del cambiamento dei costumi, delle tradizioni e dei comportamenti, sia nel mondo del lavoro, per effetto dei flussi migratori e delle nuove tecnologie, hanno comportato il superamento di antichi concetti quali, ad esempio, quelli di forza-lavoro e di classe sociale, di marxiana memoria. Continuando nella trattazione, si pone l'accento sul sistema bancario (oggetto di studio del terzo capitolo), tracciando la sua storia nelle diverse epoche ed evidenziando che la sua funzione nel campo produttivo è stata tradita per effetto della nuova politica della deregolamentazione dei mercati voluta dal liberismo e dal neoliberismo, le cui conseguenze sono state devastanti nei mercati globali. Le banche, invero, non si sono più percepite come strumenti per erogare prestiti e mutui alle famiglie ed alle imprese, ma come organismi strutturati per ottimizzare i profitti, speculando su tutto e partecipando ad attività estremamente rischiose. L'analisi critica di tutti gli argomenti trattati porta alla conclusione, evidenziata nelle considerazioni generali, che i principi di bene comune e di utilitarismo, i quali presuppongono la generalità dei cittadini come loro fruitori, sono stati totalmente negletti e superati dal concetto di benessere che si fonda su indicatori quantitativi (crescita industriale, tasso di occupazione o di disoccupazione ed altri) piuttosto che su valori qualitativi. Si è verificata, in sostanza, una degenerazione dell'antico utilitarismo e del bene comune e con essi rischia di annullarsi anche il valore della persona. Ciò ha portato al dissolvimento della tradizionale politica economica e sociale al quale ha contribuito il sistema bancario che, con comportamenti altamente rischiosi, ha sottratto ricchezze immense al sistema produttivo. Il sistema bancario, affinché non sia funzionale soltanto alla propria sopravvivenza, deve recuperare pienamente le meritorie finalità originarie; per far ciò sarà necessario che ritorni sotto una vigilanza costante e concreta. ; It being understood that the tradition of the Roman Right is in the ideas and in the terminology used, the essay tries to understand how much this tradition - strictly linked to the values of person and common good - persists in the various law changes intervened later. The research is carried out through the presentation of three scenarios corresponding to the three chapters into which the book is divided. In the first chapter, of historical-legal matter, the analysis focuses on the origins and development of the judicial categories of person, common good, and utilitarianism bequeathed by the Roman tradition, exposing the principles of the Labour Law and examining the evolution of job reports from the past to the modern industry. The second chapter deals with the technological innovations introduced in the business world and in the economic production (digitalization and computerization of the new productive and trading system). In the new socio-cultural scenario, a new role is appointed to the technological element in all its aspects. The great modifications both in the social structure (due to demographic, cultural and habit changes), and in the business world (due to new technologies and migratory flows), brought to overcoming the ancient concepts of social class and workforce. In the third part the main topic is the banking system, where its evolution is traced along history, and the deception of its function in the productive world, owing to the new policy of market deregulation mostly wanted by Liberalism and Neoliberalism, is highlighted. Banking Institutions are no more perceived as instruments to distribute loans to families and companies, but as structured entities with the aim to optimize profits, taking advantage of everything and taking part in highly dangerous activities. A critical analysis of all the debated topics brings to the conclusion that the principles of common good and utilitarianism have been completely neglected and have been overcome by the concept of wealth, based on quantitative indicators (employment and unemployment rates, industrial growth.) instead of qualitative indicators. Thus, there's been a degeneration of the ancient utilitarianism and of the common well concepts, and there's a high risk that also the value of the person will be cancelled. This aspect, and the change of the banking system behaviour taking consistent wealth from the productive system to engage in risky enterprises, have brought to the end of the traditional economic and social policy. The banking system should resume its meritory initial purpose, not being merely functional to its own survival; to ensure this achievement, it should be carefully and continuously scrutinized. ; Dottorato di ricerca in Persona, impresa e lavoro: principi e tutele di diritto interno, internazionale, comparato e comunitario (XXVI ciclo)

On 27 March 2006, the Federal Government's Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005, was enacted. This saw the most radical industrial relations change in Australia for over one hundred years. The changes included: removing unfair dismissal for employers with fewer than one hundred employees; reducing the power of the AIRC and giving the power to set wages to the AFPC; harmonising the industrial relations systems by bringing more businesses under the federal system; increasing the emphasis on AWAs; legislating five minimum Fair Pay and Condition Standards as the minimum for any agreement; introducing EGAs and; reducing the powers of unions. Since the changes were first announced there have been many opponents including the Labor Party, the unions and many academics. These opponents argued that the changes would reduce the wages and conditions of those most vulnerable in society including young people. Proponents of the changes argued that young people are not necessarily vulnerable when it comes to negotiating wages and conditions and that the changes would increase productivity and decrease the unemployment rate of young people. Since the legislation was enacted over a year ago there have been many changes. Wages of young people have been reduced slightly. The minimum wage, which many young people are on, has been reduced by more than 0.7% in real terms, a small reduction but a reduction none the less. This reduction however is not what many people expected. Many people thought that the Australian Fair Pay Commission would reduce real wages significantly. This may still be the case as so far we have only seen one decision handed down from the Commission. Some evidence has also arisen to suggest that AWAs are reducing wages of young people. Statistics from the Office of the Employment Advocate indicate 22% of AWAs have no provision for a wage increase for up to five years while 19% of AWAs have wages set on or below the federal minimum wage. Because many low wage AWAs are in retail, where many young people work, we can assume that many young people are on AWAs that have low wages with possibly no increases during the life of the agreement. Because many young people work in retail (31% of young workers), we can use the wages of this industry as an indicator of the wages of young people in general. Retail wages have fallen since Work Choices was introduced. Overall it seems wages of young people are falling, but not at a dramatic rate. However this wage reduction is surprising considering the economy is booming and there is a tight labour market. What we are seeing could be the beginning of a long term reduction in wages for young people, similar to what we have seen for supermarket workers in New Zealand since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act 1991. The working conditions of young people also seem to have declined since Work Choices was introduced. Details from the Office of the Employment Advocate indicate that a large percentage of AWAs are removing protected award conditions. At least 16% of AWAs remove all protected award condition while all AWAs remove at least one of them. Updated details on AWAs and protected award conditions have not been released since May 2006, prompting allegations of a Government cover up. There is also much anecdotal evidence that has appeared in the media supporting these statistics. This includes many young people being put on AWAs for low rates of pay with reduced conditions. However the extent to which these AWAs are affecting young people is debatable. AWAs only cover about 4% of the workforce, a figure which is probably slightly higher for young people. However, it could be that the AWAs are putting pressure on collective bargaining making it harder to bargain for wages and conditions. The number of AWAs is not increasing as quickly as some thought it would. There could be several reasons for this including that employers may not want to use AWAs because of complications, strong relationships with unions or a "wait and see" attitude. However, AWAs are increasing more rapidly in industries where there is low pay and low conditions such as retail and hospitality. These also happen to be the industries where many young people work. EGAs are also having an effect on the wages and conditions of young people. Many retail and hospitality EGAs are reducing wages and conditions. The unemployment rate for young people has declined since Work Choices was introduced. The extent to which this can be attributed to Work Choices, however, is debatable. Evidence suggests that the primary cause of the declining unemployment rate is the resource boom being driven by China and this is evidenced in that the states that are experiencing the highest growth in employment are mining states, Western Australia and Queensland. It is extremely unlikely that the cause of the reduction in unemployment is the part removal of the so called "job destroying" unfair dismissal laws as the Government claims. This argument is supported by claims from leading economists and by the Australian Federal Court. Overall, wages and conditions of young people are declining and a major contributing factor for this is Work Choices and in particular the increased emphasis on AWAs and the removal of the no disadvantage test. However, the effect so far has been relatively small compared to what might happen in the future.

В статье рассмотрены основополагающие принципы развития аудиторской деятельности и ее взаимосвязь с организацией внутреннего контроля, способствующего составлению достоверной, прозрачной и надежной отчетности экономических субъектов. Автор рассматривает независимость аудитора как важнейшую особенность и принцип аудиторской деятельности, определенную нормативными документами (МСА 200). Это полностью соответствует этическим принципам ведения аудиторской деятельности, которые должны соблюдаться в процессе осуществления профессиональной деятельности аудитора. При этом необходимо учитывать потенциальные угрозы независимости аудитора (финансовые, деловые, трудовые и др.) и те обстоятельства, которые приводят к потенциальным рискам независимости. Для того чтобы минимизировать сомнение в беспристрастности и объективности аудитора, автор определяет систему защиты, включая ротацию обязанностей фирмы, ротацию партнеров, перерывы в работе, запрещение совмещения разных услуг. В статье рассматривается ряд европейских и международных правил, позволяющих регулировать требования к независимости аудиторов и этические аспекты их профессиональной деятельности. При этом основное внимание уделяется Кодексу этики профессиональных бухгалтеров, международным стандартам этики для бухгалтеров и аудиторов и Закону Сарбейнса—Оксли (англ. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SOX). С точки зрения системы аудита компаний этот закон ввел определенные новшества, которые позволяют оценить и улучшить прозрачность внутреннего контроля, что обеспечит снижение информационного риска. В свою очередь информационная асимметрия может вести к двум проблемам — неблагоприятному отбору и моральному риску аудитора. Как отмечается в статье, действие SOX имеет глобальный характер и влияет на всю экономическую систему, поэтому компании необходимо иметь коммуникационную стратегию для устранения противоречий с внешними стейкхолдерами в части конфликта между требованиями раскрытия информации и уровнем ее секретности. Ответственность аудитора, согласно этому закону, определяется Советом по надзору за аудитом и бухгалтерским учетом в публичных компаниях. Самостоятельная часть статьи посвящена вопросам анализа компетенций Комитета спонсорских организаций Комиссии Тредвея (COSO), выпустившего документ «Концептуальные основы внутреннего контроля» — COSO Report. Эта концепция постоянно совершенствуется и формируется как модель управления риск-менеджмента на предприятии. Последние изменения системы внутреннего контроля, введенные в 2013 г., основываются именно на этом подходе. Автор рассматривает Кодекс этики профессиональных бухгалтеров как важную часть регулирования независимости аудиторов. Основная идея Кодекса заключается в том, что аудитор должен действовать в интересах общества, а его поведение должно соответствовать основным этическим принципам, в том числе независимости, чтобы приобрести уверенность и авторитет в глазах общественности. В статье показана возрастающая роль регулирования корпоративного управления ответственности за нарушение этики поведения на финансовых рынках. Распространение закона на вопросы корпоративного управления является существенным ответом на кризис ценностей деловой этики, который привел к многочисленным скандалам в конце XX в. и первом десятилетии XXI в. ; The article considers the basic principles of development of auditing and how it is related to the organization of internal control, which contributes to generating fair, transparent and reliable reports of economic entities. The author regards the auditor's independence as one of the most important peculiarities and principles of auditing defined by international standards on auditing (ISA 200). This is in full accordance with the professional ethics of auditing which is to follow by every representative of the profession. At this point it is necessary to take into account the potential threats to auditor's independence (e. g. financial, business, labour, and so on) and the circumstances, which may result in potential risks to independence. To minimize the doubts in fairness and objectivity of an auditor, the author defines the system of protection, which includes the firm's rotation, partner rotation, cooling-off period, prohibited services. The article reviews European and international legislation regulating professional independence of auditors and ethical aspects of their activity, among these, the most important are the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by IESBA (International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants), the International Standards on Auditing, ISAs, the European Commission Recommendation on May 16, 2002, concerning the independence of the auditor and the last but not least, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).From the company's audit viewpoint, the SOX aims to evaluate the independence to improve the transparency of the internal control. The major costs due to the SOX control activities are compensated with the benefits through lower information risk.In its turn the information asymmetry, namely the lack of information of one of the parties to a contract, determine the occurrence of two followings well-known problems: adverse selection and moral hazard. The article notes that SOX due to its global nature impacts powerfully other economic systems that's why corporations need a communication strategy for dealing with external stakeholders, which address the conflict between disclosure and secrecy. The responsibilities of the auditors in accordance with the SOX were defined by the PCAOB.A separate part of the article deals with the issues of analyzing competences of COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) which issued a COSO Report «Internal Control-Integrated Framework». This concept is constantly being improved as a model of the Enterprise Risk Management. The recent changes of internal control system are based on this particular approach. According to the author an important regulatory reference on the independence of the auditor is the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. This Code is based on the idea that, during the commitment, the auditor must act in the public interest and his behavior must conformto fundamental ethical principles (including that of independence), to gain confidence and credibility in the public eye.This paper shows the increasing regulation on corporate governance as the answer to the decrease of ethical behaviours in the financial markets. The proliferation of laws in matters of corporate governance was the substantial response to the crisis of the values of business ethics, which has led to numerous financial scandals of recent decades.

TJSL merupakan suatu bentuk kegiatan sosial kemasyarakatan yang dilakukan oleh perseroan terhadap aspek-aspek sosial yang berada di lingkungan perseroan. Suatu perseroan seharusnya memiliki kesadaran bahwa kegiatan operasional mereka telah menimbulkan dampak positif dan negatif bagi lingkungan sekitar perseroan. TJSL suatu perseroan dapat menjadi wujud dari sikap kooperatif perseroan menanggapi dampak yang ditimbulkan oleh perseroan tersebut. Pengaturan TJSL di Indonesia terdapat dalam pasal 74 UUPT serta PP TJSL yang merupakan peraturan pelaksana pasal 74 UUPT tersebut. Setiap perseroan melaksanaan TJSL perseroan dengan cara yang berbeda-beda. Salah satu TJSL yang dirasa unik ialah TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. yang di dalamnya melibatkan partisipasi konsumennya. Keterlibatan konsumen dalam TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. menimbulkan banyak pertanyaan karena dianggap sebagai pelimpahan sebagian kewajiban perseroan kepada konsumen. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui terkait realisasi anggaran untuk pelaksanaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. yang di dalam penerapannya melibatkan konsumen atau pelanggannya ditinjau dari UUPT dan PP TJSL dan untuk mengetahui akibat hukum dari pelaksanaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. yang di dalam penerapannya melibatkan konsumen. Hal ini diteliti karena adanya kekaburan norma dalam pengaturan terkait realisasi anggaran untuk pelaksanaan TJSL dalam UUPT dan PP TJSL. Selain itu, juga untuk memahami terkait akibat hukum apa yang dapat terjadi dengan pelaksanaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk.Penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian hukum yang menganalisis studi kepustakaan, dengan menganalisis suatu pasal yang dianggap kabur melalui peraturan perundang-undangan, literatur-literatur, dan bahan-bahan referensi lainnya yang berhubungan dengan pengaturan TJSL di Indonesia terkait pelaksaaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. Hasil penelitin ini sendiri menjelaskan bahwa terdapat kekaburan norma dalam pengaturan terkait realisasi anggaran untuk pelaksanaan TJSL dalam UUPT dan PP TJSL. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan pelaksanaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. dianggap kurang sesuai dengan UUPT dan PP TJSL. Hasil penelitian lainnya ialah penjabaran terkait akibat hukum yang sekiranya dapat timbul dalam pelaksanaan TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. Seharusnya UUPT dan PP TJSL dapat memberikan penjelasan yang lebih jelas lagi terkait pengaturan realisasi anggaran untuk pelaksanaan TJSL agar tidak menimbulkan suatu kekaburan norma. Serta, konsumen yang dilibatkan dalam TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. harus tetap dilindungi hak-haknya karena di sisi lain konsumen partisipan tersebut juga merupakan subjek dari TJSL perseroan. Perlindungan hak-hak konsumen tersebut sesuai dengan tujuan TJSL sendiri yakni agar pelaksanaannya tidak merugikan kepentingan salah satu stakeholders perseroan yang ada.Kata Kunci: CSR, TJSL, Perseroan, Stakeholders.AbstractCorporate Sosial Responsibility or commonly known as Social and Environmental Responsibility (further shorten to TJSL). TJSL is a form of social labour which done by the company over the social aspects in the environmental surrounding the company. The company should have awareness that their operational activity has caused the positive and negative to the environmental surround them. TJSL of a company can be form of the cooperative demeanor of a company in respond to the outcome which caused by the company.TJSL arrangements in Indonesia contained in article 74 of the Company Law and the PP TJSL which is the implementing regulations of the article 74 of the Company Law. Every company carrying out TJSL the company in a way that is different. One TJSL that feel unique is TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. in which involves the participation of consumers.Consumer involvement in TJSL of PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. raises many questions because it is considered as a partial transfer of liabilities to consumers.This study aims to find out more in related TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. in which involve consumers, whether there has been appropriate in the view of the Company Law and PP TJSL related to the realization of its budget and what the legal consequences of the application of TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. It was studied for their vagueness in the regulation norms related to the realization of the budget for the implementation of the Company Law and PP TJSL. In addition, it is also relevant to understand the legal consequences of what can happen with the implementation of TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. The research used in this study is legal analyze literature study, by analyzing an article that is considered to escape through legislation, literature and reference materials related to the regulation TJSL in Indonesia related implementation of TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk.The results of this experiment himself explains that there is a vagueness in the regulation norms related to the realization of the budget for the implementation of the Company Law and PP TJSL. This resulted in the implementation of TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. Considered less in accordance with the Company Law and PP TJSL. The other is the translation of research results related to legal consequences if it can arise in the implementation of TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk.Company Law and PP TJSL supposed to provide a clearer explanation related to the implementation of the budget realization regulation TJSL order not to cause a haziness norm. As well, consumers are involved in TJSL PT Midi Utama Indonesia Tbk. should remain protected his rights for participate consumers on the other hand is also the subject of TJSL company. Protection of consumer rights aims to accordance with the purpose of TJSL which implementation does not harm the interests of one of the company"s existing stakeholders.Keywords: CSR, TJSL, the Company, Stakeholders.

In decline for most of the second half of the 20th century, London's inner city was at the margin of the socioeconomic dynamics of the British capital for the last decades. Today it has become an essential part in London's development strategy. The aim of this thesis is threefold: it seeks to understand how this part of the city has gradually become a space for negotiating the social and spatial consequences of globalisation; it analyses the role of urban policy in this transformation; and examines the reactions of local authorities and associations.The first part studies how the political and urban regeneration model which governs this shift has stabilised at the end the 1980s in a competitive and entrepreneurial consensus. It mobilises critically the concept of "neoliberal urbanism" to show that the neoliberalisation of space in the inner city is far from being complete, in contrast to the image of an unambiguous withdrawal of the state.The second part proposes to deconstruct the spatial patterns of the global city applied to London. Based on a diachronic multivariate statistical analysis, it illustrates how the social and spatial tapestry of London has become more complex as new global centralities emerged in the 2000s. It shows how the inner city has become a "valve" where middle classes excluded from the central globalised markets negotiate their social reproduction in an increasing competitive context.The last part deals with the impacts on regeneration of the reforms introduced by New Labour and the Conservative / Liberal Democrats coalition in the 2000s. It shows how the regeneration model has been changed by the introduction of sustainability standards, the political recognition of minorities and a « participatory imperative ». This was reflected by the establishment of a specific territorial policy whose aim was to harness regeneration to the development of "pericentral" neighbourhoods. The analysis of this specific policy demonstrates that in the absence of sufficient binding redistributive mechanisms, this policy has led in practice to an accelerated privatisation of public housing and to widespread forms of "new-build" gentrification. The Conservative / Liberal Democrats coalition in power since 2010 has partially upheld the participatory mechanisms in regeneration projects. However, drawing on an ethnography of various forums established around two major urban projects, I show how the context of austerity has led in some cases to a form of privatisation of the core functions of the local urban democracy itself.A final analysis, which combines the study of regional newspapers and the interview of several groups involved in challenging major urban projects, shows that the model of regeneration is now being challenged in several political arenas; however, the protests are fragmented and struggle to develop a general discourse because of the specific project-based geography of regeneration. ; Marges en déclin sociodémographique et économique dans la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, les quartiers d'inner city se situent aujourd'hui au cœur de la stratégie de développement de la capitale britannique. Le but de ce travail est triple : il s'agit de montrer comment ces quartiers sont progressivement devenus des espaces où se négocient les conséquences sociales et spatiales de la globalisation ; d'analyser le rôle joué par les politiques publiques urbaines dans cette transformation et de donner à voir la réaction des pouvoirs locaux.La première partie analyse comment le modèle politique et urbain de la régénération qui préside à ce changement s'est stabilisé à la fin de la décennie 1980 dans un consensus entrepreneurial, compétitif et partenarial. Mobilisant de façon critique le corpus théorique de la « ville néolibérale », elle montre que la territorialisation de la régénération dans les anciens quartiers d'inner city est discrète et inachevée et fait place à de nombreux reliquats de l'intervention de la puissance publique, loin de l'image d'un retrait univoque de l'État.La deuxième partie propose de déconstruire les modèles spatiaux de la ville globale appliqués à Londres. Elle s'appuie sur une analyse statistique multivariée diachronique qui illustre comment la mosaïque sociospatiale londonienne se complexifie à mesure qu'émergent de nouvelles centralités globales dans les années 2000. Dans ce cadre, nous montrons comment les quartiers d'inner city sont devenus des « espaces-soupapes » où se réfugient les classes moyennes et supérieures exclues des marchés centraux mis sous pression par la globalisation.La dernière partie s'intéresse aux impacts des réformes introduites par les néotravaillistes dans les années 2000 et la coalition conservateurs / libéraux-démocrates, au pouvoir depuis 2010, sur les pratiques et les territoires de la régénération. Elle montre comment les réformes modifient le modèle de la régénération en y introduisant des normes de durabilité, de reconnaissance des minorités et un impératif participatif. La coalition conservateurs / libéraux-démocrates a partiellement maintenu ce cadre. Cependant, un étude ethnographique des dispositifs initiés autour de deux grands projets urbains permet de voir comment le contexte d'austérité a conduit dans certains cas à une forme de privatisation du fonctionnement même de la démocratie urbaine locale.Au total, en l'absence de mécanisme de redistribution suffisamment contraignant, les programmes de régénération conduisent dans les faits à une accélération de la privatisation du parc de logements publics et à une généralisation des formes de gentrification clé-en-main (new-build gentrification). Une dernier corpus, élaboré à partir d'une analyse de la presse régionale et du suivi de plusieurs associations engagées dans la contestation de grands projets urbains montre que la régénération est désormais contestée dans plusieurs sphères politiques ; cependant les protestations sont fragmentées et peinent à se généraliser en raison de la spatialité de la régénération, par projet.

In decline for most of the second half of the 20th century, London's inner city was at the margin of the socioeconomic dynamics of the British capital for the last decades. Today it has become an essential part in London's development strategy. The aim of this thesis is threefold: it seeks to understand how this part of the city has gradually become a space for negotiating the social and spatial consequences of globalisation; it analyses the role of urban policy in this transformation; and examines the reactions of local authorities and associations.The first part studies how the political and urban regeneration model which governs this shift has stabilised at the end the 1980s in a competitive and entrepreneurial consensus. It mobilises critically the concept of "neoliberal urbanism" to show that the neoliberalisation of space in the inner city is far from being complete, in contrast to the image of an unambiguous withdrawal of the state.The second part proposes to deconstruct the spatial patterns of the global city applied to London. Based on a diachronic multivariate statistical analysis, it illustrates how the social and spatial tapestry of London has become more complex as new global centralities emerged in the 2000s. It shows how the inner city has become a "valve" where middle classes excluded from the central globalised markets negotiate their social reproduction in an increasing competitive context.The last part deals with the impacts on regeneration of the reforms introduced by New Labour and the Conservative / Liberal Democrats coalition in the 2000s. It shows how the regeneration model has been changed by the introduction of sustainability standards, the political recognition of minorities and a « participatory imperative ». This was reflected by the establishment of a specific territorial policy whose aim was to harness regeneration to the development of "pericentral" neighbourhoods. The analysis of this specific policy demonstrates that in the absence of sufficient binding redistributive mechanisms, this policy has led in practice to an accelerated privatisation of public housing and to widespread forms of "new-build" gentrification. The Conservative / Liberal Democrats coalition in power since 2010 has partially upheld the participatory mechanisms in regeneration projects. However, drawing on an ethnography of various forums established around two major urban projects, I show how the context of austerity has led in some cases to a form of privatisation of the core functions of the local urban democracy itself.A final analysis, which combines the study of regional newspapers and the interview of several groups involved in challenging major urban projects, shows that the model of regeneration is now being challenged in several political arenas; however, the protests are fragmented and struggle to develop a general discourse because of the specific project-based geography of regeneration. ; Marges en déclin sociodémographique et économique dans la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, les quartiers d'inner city se situent aujourd'hui au cœur de la stratégie de développement de la capitale britannique. Le but de ce travail est triple : il s'agit de montrer comment ces quartiers sont progressivement devenus des espaces où se négocient les conséquences sociales et spatiales de la globalisation ; d'analyser le rôle joué par les politiques publiques urbaines dans cette transformation et de donner à voir la réaction des pouvoirs locaux.La première partie analyse comment le modèle politique et urbain de la régénération qui préside à ce changement s'est stabilisé à la fin de la décennie 1980 dans un consensus entrepreneurial, compétitif et partenarial. Mobilisant de façon critique le corpus théorique de la « ville néolibérale », elle montre que la territorialisation de la régénération dans les anciens quartiers d'inner city est discrète et inachevée et fait place à de nombreux reliquats de l'intervention de la puissance publique, loin de l'image d'un retrait univoque de l'État.La deuxième partie propose de déconstruire les modèles spatiaux de la ville globale appliqués à Londres. Elle s'appuie sur une analyse statistique multivariée diachronique qui illustre comment la mosaïque sociospatiale londonienne se complexifie à mesure qu'émergent de nouvelles centralités globales dans les années 2000. Dans ce cadre, nous montrons comment les quartiers d'inner city sont devenus des « espaces-soupapes » où se réfugient les classes moyennes et supérieures exclues des marchés centraux mis sous pression par la globalisation.La dernière partie s'intéresse aux impacts des réformes introduites par les néotravaillistes dans les années 2000 et la coalition conservateurs / libéraux-démocrates, au pouvoir depuis 2010, sur les pratiques et les territoires de la régénération. Elle montre comment les réformes modifient le modèle de la régénération en y introduisant des normes de durabilité, de reconnaissance des minorités et un impératif participatif. La coalition conservateurs / libéraux-démocrates a partiellement maintenu ce cadre. Cependant, un étude ethnographique des dispositifs initiés autour de deux grands projets urbains permet de voir comment le contexte d'austérité a conduit dans certains cas à une forme de privatisation du fonctionnement même de la démocratie urbaine locale.Au total, en l'absence de mécanisme de redistribution suffisamment contraignant, les programmes de régénération conduisent dans les faits à une accélération de la privatisation du parc de logements publics et à une généralisation des formes de gentrification clé-en-main (new-build gentrification). Une dernier corpus, élaboré à partir d'une analyse de la presse régionale et du suivi de plusieurs associations engagées dans la contestation de grands projets urbains montre que la régénération est désormais contestée dans plusieurs sphères politiques ; cependant les protestations sont fragmentées et peinent à se généraliser en raison de la spatialité de la régénération, par projet.

ANOTĀCIJA Pētījuma pamats ir Eiropas Savienības arodbiedrību koncepts sociālajā dialogā un sociālā partnerība publiskās pārvaldes lēmumu pieņemšanas procesā. Sociālais dialogs ir salīdzinoši jauns jēdziens, kas tikai pēdējās desmitgadēs ir ieguvis nozīmīgu vietu publiskajās debatēs starptautiskā līmenī. Tas ir balstīts uz Starptautiskās darba organizācijas (turpmāk – SDO, angļu valodā – International Labour Organization) konstitūciju un darbību, aptverot tādas jomas, kā darba tiesības, nodarbinātība un sociālā aizsardzība. Izmantojot šo trīspusējo struktūru, SDO pasaulē īsteno unikālu pieeju sociālā dialoga ieviešanā. Sociālā drošība un sociālais dialogs ir arī Eiropas sociālās politikas pamatelementi, tādējādi norises ES var kalpot arī nacionālo līmeņu, tajā skaitā Latvijas, sociālā dialoga un sociālās partnerības galveno tendenču attīstības analīzei. Šis pētījums iezīmē sociālā dialoga jēdzienu kā galveno elementu darba attiecībās ar uzsvaru tieši uz darba attiecībām publiskajā sektorā. Autors ir izstrādājis pieeju darba attiecībām un sociālajam dialogam, ņemot vērā salīdzinošo pieeju definīcijas, ko noteikušas starptautiskās institūcijas, piemēram, SDO un Ekonomiskās sadarbības un attīstības organizācija (angļu valodā – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD), kā arī dažādas iestādes ES un Latvijā. Autors atsaucies arī uz vairākiem pētījumiem, ko veikuši zinātnieki ar nozīmīgiem ieguldījumiem šajā pētniecības jomā. Īpaša uzmanība pievērsta arodbiedrībām kā sociālajam partnerim lēmumu pieņemšanas procesā ES līmenī, kur sociālā partnerība ir daļa no ES sociālās dimensijas un ir ievērojami attīstījusies salīdzinājumā ar valstīm citur pasaulē. Pašreizējās diskusijas ES līmenī ir vērstas uz tādiem modeļiem, kā, piemēram, Eiropas sociālā savienība, kas var papildināt Eiropas Ekonomikas un monetāro savienību, un diskusijas par Eiropas politisko savienību. Šis pētījums arī iezīmējis sociālā dialoga konceptu kā galveno elementu darba attiecībās ar uzsvaru uz darba attiecībām īpaši publiskajā sektorā. Arodbiedrību loma sarunās ar sociālajiem partneriem un sociālā dialoga koncepcija varētu būt ļoti nozīmīga diskusijās par Eiropas sociālo savienību. Šajā pētījumā tiek apspriesti un salīdzināti dažādu arodbiedrību modeļi, un jo īpaši tiek analizēts mūsdienu Latvijas arodbiedrību modelis. Tiek analizēta arodbiedrību kā sociālā partnera loma lēmumu pieņemšanas procesā – galvenokārt attiecībā uz valsts sektoru. Darbā tiek iztirzāta Latvijai aktuālā Latvijas Brīvo arodbiedrību savienības darbība un tās attīstība, īpaši attiecībā uz lēmumu pieņemšanas procesu, kas saistīts ar valsts pārvaldes vadību. Nobeigumā, balstoties uz intervijām un anketēšanu, analizējot ekspertu viedokļus, kā arī apkopojot un analizējot arodbiedrību biedru viedokļus un pārējo iedzīvotāju viedokļus, tiek analizēta arodbiedrību loma perspektīvā ES un Latvijā un izvērtēta arodbiedrību nozīme lēmumu pieņemšanā publiskajā pārvaldē. Pamatojoties uz galvenajiem atklājumiem, pētījuma rezultātā apkopoti secinājumi un izstrādāti priekšlikumi arodbiedrību darbībai publiskās pārvaldes lēmumu pieņemšanā. Atslēgvārdi: arodbiedrības, likumdošana, sociālais dialogs, sociālā partnerība. ; ANNOTATION The framework of the study is the EU conce0pt of trade unions in social dialogue and social partnership in the public sector. Social dialogue is a relatively new concept. It has gained significant importance in public debates internationally only in the last decades and is grounded in the constitution and activities of ILO covering rights at work, employment and social protection. Through its tripartite structure, the ILO has unique access to the world in relation to the Social dialogue implementation. Social dialogue and social security also became fundamental elements in the European Social policy, thus the EU could serve as an example of analysis of main trends in the development of Social dialog and Social partnership at the EU and national levels. The subject of current discussion at the EU level is focused on such models as, for example, European Social Union, which would complement the European Economic Union and a European Political Union. This study outlines the concept of the Social dialogue as a core element of the industrial relations with a focus on industrial relations specifically in the public sector. The concept of Social dialogue and the role of trade unions in negotiations with social partners could contribute to the discussion about European Social Union. The author has elaborated the approach to industrial relations and Social dialogue taking into account comparative approach to definitions provided by the international institutions such as ILO and OECD as well as institutions in the EU and Latvia. The author also refers to a number of studies by scholars that made contributions to this area of research. Special attention is given to trade unions as a social partner in decision – making process at the EU level, where social partnership as a part of the EU social dimension and is significantly developed compare to the other parts of the world. In this study different trade unions' models are discussed and compared. In particular, a model of trade unions' in nowadays Latvia is analysed. The role of trade unions as a social partner in decision -making process related mainly to the public sector is illustrated. The author applies a "model-based" approach by using the example of Latvia where a number of anti-crisis measures have been undertaken. Latvia could serve as an example of one of the peripheral EU Member States and also a 'programme' country that benefited from EU and IMF assistance, but experienced challenges in effectiveness of social dialogue and performance of trade unions. The paper discusses the current developments related to the position of Latvian Free Trade Union Federation in the system of decision-making process related to the public administration management. Finally the prospective role of trade unions in the EU and in Latvia is analysed and possible revitalisation of trade union is discussed. The author suggests to deeper the role of trade unions in implementation of the flexicurity principles as well as in the implementation of the European Citizen's Initiative. On the basis of the main findings, the study provides conclusions and suggestions for trade union actions. Keywords: trade unions, legislation, social dialogue, and social partnership.

1) Executive Summary Legislation (Autism Act NI, 2011), a cross-departmental strategy (Autism Strategy 2013-2020) and a first action plan (2013-2016) have been developed in Northern Ireland in order to support individuals and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) without a prior thorough baseline assessment of need. At the same time, there are large existing data sets about the population in NI that had never been subjected to a secondary data analysis with regards to data on ASD. This report covers the first comprehensive secondary data analysis and thereby aims to inform future policy and practice. Following a search of all existing, large-scale, regional or national data sets that were relevant to the lives of individuals and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Northern Ireland, extensive secondary data analyses were carried out. The focus of these secondary data analyses was to distill any ASD related data from larger generic data sets. The findings are reported for each data set and follow a lifespan perspective, i.e., data related to children is reported first before data related to adults. Key findings: Autism Prevalence: Of children born in 2000 in the UK, • 0.9% (1:109) were reported to have ASD, when they were 5-year old in 2005; • 1.8% (1:55) were reported to have ASD, when they were 7-years old in 2007; • 3.5% (1:29) were reported to have ASD, when they were 11-year old in 2011. In mainstream schools in Northern Ireland • 1.2% of the children were reported to have ASD in 2006/07; • 1.8% of the children were reported to have ASD in 2012/13. Economic Deprivation: • Families of children with autism (CWA) were 9%-18% worse off per week than families of children not on the autism spectrum (COA). • Between 2006-2013 deprivation of CWA compared to COA nearly doubled as measured by eligibility for free school meals (from near 20 % to 37%) • In 2006, CWA and COA experienced similar levels of deprivation (approx. 20%), by 2013, a considerable deprivation gap had developed, with CWA experienced 6% more deprivation than COA. • Nearly 1/3 of primary school CWA lived in the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland. • Nearly ½ of children with Asperger's Syndrome who attended special school lived in the most deprived areas. Unemployment: • Mothers of CWA were 6% less likely to be employed than mothers of COA. • Mothers of CWA earned 35%-56% less than mothers of COA. • CWA were 9% less likely to live in two income families than COA. Health: • Pre-diagnosis, CWA were more likely than COA to have physical health problems, including walking on level ground, speech and language, hearing, eyesight, and asthma. • Aged 3 years of age CWA experienced poorer emotional and social health than COA, this difference increased significantly by the time they were 7 years of age. • Mothers of young CWA had lower levels of life satisfaction and poorer mental health than mothers of young COA. Education: • In mainstream education, children with ASD aged 11-16 years reported less satisfaction with their social relationships than COA. • Younger children with ASD (aged 5 and 7 years) were less likely to enjoy school, were bullied more, and were more reluctant to attend school than COA. • CWA attended school 2-3 weeks less than COA . • Children with Asperger's Syndrome in special schools missed the equivalent of 8-13 school days more than children with Asperger's Syndrome in mainstream schools. • Children with ASD attending mainstream schooling were less likely to gain 5+ GCSEs A*-C or subsequently attend university. Further and Higher Education: • Enrolment rates for students with ASD have risen in Further Education (FE), from 0% to 0.7%. • Enrolment rates for students with ASD have risen in Higher Education (HE), from 0.28% to 0.45%. • Students with ASD chose to study different subjects than students without ASD, although other factors, e.g., gender, age etc. may have played a part in subject selection. • Students with ASD from NI were more likely than students without ASD to choose Northern Irish HE Institutions rather than study outside NI. Participation in adult life and employment: • A small number of adults with ASD (n=99) have benefitted from DES employment provision over the past 12 years. • It is unknown how many adults with ASD have received employment support elsewhere (e.g. Steps to Work). • Awareness and Attitudes in the General Population: • In both the 2003 and 2012 NI Life and Times Survey (NILTS), NI public reported positive attitudes towards the inclusion of children with ASD in mainstream education (see also BASE Project Vol. 2). Gap Analysis Recommendations: This was the first comprehensive secondary analysis with regards to ASD of existing large-scale data sets in Northern Ireland. Data gaps were identified and further replications would benefit from the following data inclusion: • ASD should be recorded routinely in the following datasets: o Census; o Northern Ireland Survey of Activity Limitation (NISALD); o Training for Success/Steps to work; Steps to Success; o Travel survey; o Hate crime; and o Labour Force Survey. • Data should be collected on the destinations/qualifications of special school leavers. • NILT Survey autism module should be repeated in 5 years time (2017) (see full report of 1st NILT Survey autism module 2012 in BASE Project Report Volume 2). • General public attitudes and awareness should be assessed for children and young people, using the Young Life and Times Survey (YLT) and the Kids Life and Times Survey (KLT); (this work is underway, Dillenburger, McKerr, Schubolz, & Lloyd, 2014-2015).

Esta tesis trata acerca de la forma y el alcance con que la politización de los conflictos socioeconómicos en torno a la intervención económica estatal configuró algunos de los rasgos particulares del modelo de industrialización sustitutiva en la Argentina en el período 1943-1955. Para dar cuenta de ello se analiza, por un lado, los esfuerzos de la elite peronista para construir tanto la legitimidad de la intervención estatal como una coalición sociopolítica amplia que sustentase el modelo económico propuesto; y, por otro lado, se estudia la dinámica que surge a partir del comportamiento de los actores empresarios y trabajadores. El foco se centra en el estudio de las interacciones entre actores estatales y socioeconómicos, lo que permite profundizar dos dimensiones pocas veces tenidas en cuenta: la legitimidad de la intervención económica estatal y del modelo de desarrollo en los orígenes de la industrialización sustitutiva como proyecto deliberado de una elite político-estatal. La pregunta acerca de la legitimidad económica conlleva una renovación tanto en cuanto a la perspectiva analítica como a las fuentes, lo cual habilita a rediscutir algunas visiones y conceptos acerca de la relación entre el estado, los actores socioeconómicos y el desarrollo. En primer lugar, el análisis del proceso a través del cual se fueron tejiendo las interacciones Estado-trabajadores-empresarios muestra la profundidad con la que se vieron afectados aspectos cruciales de la calidad en la intervención económica estatal: su autonomía, el tipo de vinculación con los actores socioeconómicos (enraizamiento) y el poder estatal de disciplinamiento. En segundo lugar, el estudio de los organismos para la cooperación económica, los consejos y comisiones mixtas –donde participaban e interactuaban empresarios y trabajadores alrededor de problemas fundamentales de la industrialización–, a su vez contribuyen a generar nuevas hipótesis respecto de las condiciones sociopolíticas que hacen a la sustentabilidad del modelo de desarrollo sustitutivo en el largo plazo. La estrategia metodológica es cualitativa y abarca diversidad de fuentes primarias y secundarias. La intervención estatal es analizada a partir de su orientación, calidad, autonomía, enraizamiento y disciplinamiento. La dinámica de las interacciones entre los actores se aborda a partir de sus intervenciones discursivas, argumentos, justificaciones y la invocación de legitimidad con la que sostienen sus posiciones. La principal técnica de análisis es el análisis de los discursos y de documentos. El trabajo de campo abarca el análisis en profundidad de los diversos consejos y comisiones, entre los cuales se destaca el fondo documental conformado por las transcripciones taquigráficas que tuvieron lugar en lo que luego sería la Comisión Nacional de Precios y Salarios de 1952, donde empresarios, trabajadores y el Estado interactuaron en torno al problema de la inflación. Además, se relevaron y analizaron numerosos documentos oficiales, informes, memorias, planes de gobierno, leyes y decretos, así como diarios y revistas de la época. This thesis deals with the form and extent of state economic intervention in the import substitution industrialization model in the period 1943-1955 and the socio-political-economic conflict that arose from this intervention. The argument is constructed by analyzing, on the one hand, the Peronist political-state elite's efforts to build a social consensus and a broad socio-political coalition that would support the economic model; and, on the other hand, the dynamics arising from the behaviour of business and labour, their actions and reactions. The focus is on the study of the interactions between the state and socio-economic actors, allowing two-dimensional depth rarely taken into account: the legitimacy of state intervention and the legitimacy of the development model as a deliberate project of the statepolitical elite. The question of ecnomic legitimacy allows a twofold renovation: on the analytical perspective and the sources, which enables the review of some ideas and concepts about the relationship between the state, the socioeconomic actors and development process. First, the analysis of the process by which interactions were woven between business, state and workers shows how deeply they were affected by crucial aspects of the quality of state's economic intervention: its autonomy, the type of relationship with socioeconomic actors (embeddedness) and the power of the state to discipline those actors. Secondly, the study of the agencies for economic cooperation, councils and joint committees, where employers and employees participated and interacted over fundamental problems of industrialization, contribute to generate new hypothesis about the sociopolitical conditions which affected the sustainability of the substitutive development model over the long term. The methodological approach is qualitative and employs a diversity of primary and secondary sources. State intervention is analyzed based on its orientation, quality, autonomy, embeddeness and discipline capacity. The dynamics of the interactions between the actors are addressed from their discursive interventions, arguments, justifications and invocation of legitimacy associated with their positions. The main technique of analysis is the study of speeches and documents. The field work entailed in-depth analysis of the various boards and commissions, prominent among which is the documentary produced from stenographic transcripts of what would become the National Commission for Prices and Wages in 1952, where employers, the state and workers engaged on the problem of inflation. Likewise, numerous official documents, reports, statements, plans of government, laws and decrees, as well as newspapers and magazines of the time, were surveyed and analyzed.

Esta tesis trata acerca de la forma y el alcance con que la politización de los conflictos socioeconómicos en torno a la intervención económica estatal configuró algunos de los rasgos particulares del modelo de industrialización sustitutiva en la Argentina en el período 1943-1955. Para dar cuenta de ello se analiza, por un lado, los esfuerzos de la elite peronista para construir tanto la legitimidad de la intervención estatal como una coalición sociopolítica amplia que sustentase el modelo económico propuesto; y, por otro lado, se estudia la dinámica que surge a partir del comportamiento de los actores empresarios y trabajadores. El foco se centra en el estudio de las interacciones entre actores estatales y socioeconómicos, lo que permite profundizar dos dimensiones pocas veces tenidas en cuenta: la legitimidad de la intervención económica estatal y del modelo de desarrollo en los orígenes de la industrialización sustitutiva como proyecto deliberado de una elite político-estatal. La pregunta acerca de la legitimidad económica conlleva una renovación tanto en cuanto a la perspectiva analítica como a las fuentes, lo cual habilita a rediscutir algunas visiones y conceptos acerca de la relación entre el estado, los actores socioeconómicos y el desarrollo. En primer lugar, el análisis del proceso a través del cual se fueron tejiendo las interacciones Estado-trabajadores-empresarios muestra la profundidad con la que se vieron afectados aspectos cruciales de la calidad en la intervención económica estatal: su autonomía, el tipo de vinculación con los actores socioeconómicos (enraizamiento) y el poder estatal de disciplinamiento. En segundo lugar, el estudio de los organismos para la cooperación económica, los consejos y comisiones mixtas –donde participaban e interactuaban empresarios y trabajadores alrededor de problemas fundamentales de la industrialización–, a su vez contribuyen a generar nuevas hipótesis respecto de las condiciones sociopolíticas que hacen a la sustentabilidad del modelo de desarrollo sustitutivo en el largo plazo. La estrategia metodológica es cualitativa y abarca diversidad de fuentes primarias y secundarias. La intervención estatal es analizada a partir de su orientación, calidad, autonomía, enraizamiento y disciplinamiento. La dinámica de las interacciones entre los actores se aborda a partir de sus intervenciones discursivas, argumentos, justificaciones y la invocación de legitimidad con la que sostienen sus posiciones. La principal técnica de análisis es el análisis de los discursos y de documentos. El trabajo de campo abarca el análisis en profundidad de los diversos consejos y comisiones, entre los cuales se destaca el fondo documental conformado por las transcripciones taquigráficas que tuvieron lugar en lo que luego sería la Comisión Nacional de Precios y Salarios de 1952, donde empresarios, trabajadores y el Estado interactuaron en torno al problema de la inflación. Además, se relevaron y analizaron numerosos documentos oficiales, informes, memorias, planes de gobierno, leyes y decretos, así como diarios y revistas de la época. This thesis deals with the form and extent of state economic intervention in the import substitution industrialization model in the period 1943-1955 and the socio-political-economic conflict that arose from this intervention. The argument is constructed by analyzing, on the one hand, the Peronist political-state elite's efforts to build a social consensus and a broad socio-political coalition that would support the economic model; and, on the other hand, the dynamics arising from the behaviour of business and labour, their actions and reactions. The focus is on the study of the interactions between the state and socio-economic actors, allowing two-dimensional depth rarely taken into account: the legitimacy of state intervention and the legitimacy of the development model as a deliberate project of the statepolitical elite. The question of ecnomic legitimacy allows a twofold renovation: on the analytical perspective and the sources, which enables the review of some ideas and concepts about the relationship between the state, the socioeconomic actors and development process. First, the analysis of the process by which interactions were woven between business, state and workers shows how deeply they were affected by crucial aspects of the quality of state's economic intervention: its autonomy, the type of relationship with socioeconomic actors (embeddedness) and the power of the state to discipline those actors. Secondly, the study of the agencies for economic cooperation, councils and joint committees, where employers and employees participated and interacted over fundamental problems of industrialization, contribute to generate new hypothesis about the sociopolitical conditions which affected the sustainability of the substitutive development model over the long term. The methodological approach is qualitative and employs a diversity of primary and secondary sources. State intervention is analyzed based on its orientation, quality, autonomy, embeddeness and discipline capacity. The dynamics of the interactions between the actors are addressed from their discursive interventions, arguments, justifications and invocation of legitimacy associated with their positions. The main technique of analysis is the study of speeches and documents. The field work entailed in-depth analysis of the various boards and commissions, prominent among which is the documentary produced from stenographic transcripts of what would become the National Commission for Prices and Wages in 1952, where employers, the state and workers engaged on the problem of inflation. Likewise, numerous official documents, reports, statements, plans of government, laws and decrees, as well as newspapers and magazines of the time, were surveyed and analyzed.

Im Laufe der 70er, 80er und 90er Jahre nahm die Frauenerwerbsbeteiligung in Europa zu bei gleichzeitiger Abnahme der Männerbeschäftigung. Jedoch, und trotz des Politikwan-dels in Richtung eines "adult worker model", sind Frauen weiterhin von diskontinuierliche-ren Erwerbsbiographien betroffen als Männer. In meiner Dissertation gehe ich der Frage nach, welche Faktoren die Erwerbsdiskontinuität von Frauen in den 90er Jahren beeinflus-sen. Dabei wird der Übergang von der Erwerbstätigkeit in die Hausfrauentätigkeit in Westdeutschland, Italien und Spanien untersucht. In den 90er Jahren waren Westdeutschland und Italien in der Kinderbetreuung explizit fa-milialistische Wohlfahrtsstaaten, während Spanien implizit familialistisch war. Frauen wa-ren jedoch in Spanien und Italien kontinuierlicher erwerbstätig als in Westdeutschland. Anhand dieses Ländervergleiches wird in der Dissertation deutlich, dass die familienpoliti-schen Rahmenbedingungen einen Einfluss haben, jedoch nicht ausreichend zur Erklärung der Erwerbsdiskontinuität von Frauen sind. In beiden südeuropäischen Ländern hat eine hohe Bildung einen relativ starken negativen Effekt auf den Übergang in die Hausfrauentätigkeit, der nicht in Westdeutschland vorhan-den ist. Ebenfalls zeigt die Zugehörigkeit zu unterschiedlichen Berufsklassen in beiden südeuropäischen Ländern signifikante Effekte, die nicht in Westdeutschland zu finden sind. Aufgrund der statistischen Kontrolle des Einkommens können die Ergebnisse von Bildung und von der Berufsklasse nicht ausschließlich auf materielle Gegebenheiten zu-rückgeführt werden. Die Erwerbsdiskontinuität von Frauen wird durch Ressourcen, Oppor-tunitäten und Restriktionen beeinflusst, aber auch durch kulturelle und Identitätsprozesse, die mit der Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten Klasse oder mit einem bestimmten Bil-dungsniveau verbunden sind. Dem Arbeitsmarkt kommt in Italien und Spanien ebenfalls eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Obwohl in allen drei Ländern befristete Arbeitsverhältnisse sowie die Erwerbstätigkeit in einem kleinen Unternehmen den Übergang von Frauen in die Hausfrauentätigkeit positiv beeinflussen, ist der Einfluss in Westdeutschland nicht so stark ausgeprägt wie in Italien und Spanien. Die Teilzeitarbeit beeinflusst ausschließlich in den beiden südeuropäischen Ländern positiv den Übergang. In Italien spielt die Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Sektor außerdem eine zentrale Rolle: sie beeinflusst negativ den Übergang in die Hausfrauentä-tigkeit. Die Analyse zeigt ebenfalls Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen allen drei Ländern. Die Episoden der Hausfrauentätigkeit beeinflussen in allen drei Ländern den Übergang in die Hausfrau-entätigkeit positiv. Sie gehören zum Lebenskonzept erwerbstätiger Frauen und weisen auf geltende traditionelle Wertvorstellungen bezüglich der Geschlechterrollen hin. Die Anwe-senheit eines Ehepartners zeigt ebenfalls in allen drei Ländern positive Effekte auf den Übergang, während das Erwerbseinkommen negativ den Übergang beeinflusst. Aufgrund der statistischen Kontrolle des Anteils des eigenen Einkommens am Haushaltseinkommen hat der positive Effekt der Anwesenheit eines Ehepartners weniger mit der Ressourcenver-teilung innerhalb des Haushalts als mit traditionellen Geschlechterrollen und Wertvorstel-lungen in der Ehepartnerschaft zu tun. Sowohl das Einkommen als auch die Episoden der Hausfrauentätigkeit zeigen in Westdeutschland stärkere Effekte als in Italien und Spanien. Diese Ergebnisse werden als Hinweis für die traditionellere Geschlechterrollenvorstellung westdeutscher erwerbstätiger Frauen als von erwerbstätigen italienischen und spanischen Frauen interpretiert. Dies wird durch eine deskriptive Analyse über die Einstellung er-werbstätiger Frauen bezüglich der Geschlechterrollen in allen drei Ländern bestätigt. In den drei Ländern wurde außerdem ein zusätzlicher Übergang untersucht. Während in Westdeutschland dem Übergang in die Hausfrauentätigkeit bei gleichzeitiger geringfügiger Erwerbstätigkeit eine wichtige Bedeutung zukommt, ist in Italien und in Spanien der Übergang in die arbeitslose Hausfrauentätigkeit von Bedeutung. In allen drei Ländern konnten unterschiedliche Ergebnisse festgestellt werden, je nachdem ob die Hausfrauentä-tigkeit mit einer Nicht-Erwerbstätigkeit, oder mit einer geringfügigen Erwerbstätigkeit in Westdeutschland beziehungsweise mit einer Arbeitslosigkeit in Italien und Spanien kom-biniert wird. Dies weist auf die Notwendigkeit einer präzisen Beschreibung der Hausfrau-entätigkeit hin. ; Over the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the female employment in Europe increased while simultaneously there was a decline of male employment. However in spite of the policy change towards an "adult worker model" women are more affected than men by non-continuous employment. In my dissertation I examine the factors influencing the non-continuous employment of women in the 1990s. Thereby the transition of women from employment into housewifery will be analysed. In the 1990s West Germany and Italy were explicit familialistic welfare states concerning child care, while Spain was implicit familialistic. However in Spain and in Italy women were more continuously employed than in West Germany. On the basis of the country comparison it becomes clear in the dissertation, that the family policies of the states are influential but these policies are not enough to explain the non-continuous employment of women. In both southern European countries a high level of education has a relatively strong negative effect on the transition of employed women into housewifery, which does not exist in West Germany. Furthermore the membership in different social classes shows significant effects in both southern European countries, which cannot be found in West Germany. Because of the statistical control of the income the results of education and social class cannot only be ascribed to material conditions. The non-continuos employment of women is influenced by resources, opportunities and restrictions, but also by cultural processes and processes of identity. These processes are associated with the membership to a particular social class or to a particular educational level. In Italy and Spain considerable importance is attached to the labour market. Although in all three countries temporary employment and employment in small companies influence in a positive way the transition of women into housewifery, the influence in West Germany is not as strong as in Italy and Spain. The part-time work influences in a positive way the transition exclusively in both southern European countries. In Italy the employment in the public sector plays a key role: it influences negatively the transition into housewifery. Furthermore the analysis shows similarities between all three countries. Spells of housewifery in all three countries influence positively the transition into housewifery. They belong to the concept of living of employed women and refer to traditional values concerning gender roles. The existence of a husband shows also positive effects in all three countries while the income shows negative effects on this transition. Because of the statistical control of the portion of the woman's own income in the household income, the positive effect of the existence of a husband is less related to the allocation of resources than to the traditional gender roles and values in the marital partnership. Both income and spells of housewifery show stronger effects in West Germany than in Italy and Spain. These results refer to more traditional gender roles of West German employed women than of employed women in Italy and Spain. A descriptive analysis about the attitudes of employed women in all three countries concerning gender roles confirmes these results. In all three countries an additional transition was analysed. In West Germany the transition into housewifery is important in combination with simultaneous marginal employment, while in Italy and Spain this transition is relevant if combined with unemployment. In all three countries different results could be detected depending on whether housewifery was combined with non-employment, with marginal employment like in West Germany or with unemployment like in Italy and in Spain. This leads to the necessity of a more precise description of housewifery.

Research on economic growth and development in developing countries has often highlighted the role of liberalisation policies (economic and political) in improving economic performance in the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, efforts at fostering economic growth and development have not only resulted in the adoption of these policies, but have also led to the proliferation of regional economic integration (include monetary unification). Nonetheless, the impact of these policies on economic performance continues to be a subject of debate among policy makers, development partners, academic researchers, and the international community at large. This debate has become increasingly important in light of the challenges facing the aforementioned agents in helping to improve the economic performance of these countries. This thesis focuses on this topic providing empirical evidence for sub-Saharan African countries. The first chapter uses post-liberalisation data on Ghana and focuses on the extent to which trade openness and foreign aid inflows impact on economic growth. Ghana, being one of the forerunners to adopt liberalisation policies in sub-Saharan Africa, has received commendations from the international community for its post-liberalisation economic growth performance. This has increased government commitment in recent years to open the economy to international competition. Moreover, foreign aid inflows over the period have been relatively large. The study, which employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration, provides empirical findings, which clearly indicate that the impact of both trade openness and foreign aid on Ghana's post-liberalisation economic growth is positive and statistically significant in both the short-run and the long run, although this is somewhat reduced by their interaction. In addition, the study reveals long run economic growth benefits of Ghana's political system whilst government spending and labour force performance retarded economic growth over the study period. The empirical findings and policy recommendations are relevant for Ghana's long-term economic growth policy reforms. The second chapter, taken cognisance of the fact that sub-Saharan Africa has been characterised by low-income levels for decades, analyses the impact of economic globalisation and democracy on income levels in the area using panel cointegration techniques. The study considers a composite indicator for economic globalisation and several indicators of democracy and highlights the essence of the simultaneous adoption of economic globalisation and democracy for sub-Saharan African countries. The empirical results, based on a sample of 31 countries over the period 1980-2005, clearly indicate that, whilst the total long run impact of economic globalisation on income levels has been beneficial, the total long run impact of democracy has been the bane of the level of income in sub-Saharan Africa. The study concludes that policy reforms should be aimed at improving democratic institutions in sub-Saharan Africa for its potential benefits to be realised The third chapter focuses on the implications of trade openness, foreign aid and democracy for the fulfilment of Wagner's law in West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) countries. Although the impact of trade openness, foreign aid and democracy on government expenditure in developing countries has been emphasised in the literature in recent decades most recent studies of Wagner's law have often neglected the increasing role played by these policy variables. The study provides an empirical analysis of the long run implications of trade openness, foreign aid and democracy for the fulfilment of Wagner's law in WAMZ countries using panel data techniques for the period 1980-2008. The study finds the existence of Wagner's law in WAMZ countries, but only when the role of these policy variables has been catered for. The analysis concludes that, if these countries are to meet the fiscal convergence criteria and ensure the sustainability of a single currency area, explicit sets of restraint on the national authorities and innovative and efficient ways of domestic revenue generation necessary to ensure that government revenue keep pace with its expenditure become crucial, because the monetary union by itself may not necessarily ensure fiscal discipline. The fourth chapter focuses on the relationship between democracy, government spending, and economic growth. Although, economic theory predicts that various core functions of governments are growth enhancing, its spending in non democratic countries often goes beyond these core functions, namely into rent-seeking and non-productive activities. The study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration to investigate the extent to which democracy and government spending have had an impact on economic growth in Ghana over the period 1960-2008. The empirical results obtained are encouraging, revealing support for the high efficiency of government spending in democracies hypothesis. The study demonstrates that democracy and government spending go hand in hand in providing a complementary role to impact positive on economic growth in Ghana in both the long-and short-run. The fifth chapter investigates the impact of trade openness on economic growth and development for a sample of 85 middle-income countries over the period 1970-2009. The study employs non-stationary heterogeneous panel cointegration techniques that take into consideration the impact of cross-section dependence. The analysis reveals four important findings. Firstly, that trade openness has been one of the main drivers of the level of development, but not of economic growth in middle-income countries. Secondly, that trade openness is both a cause and a consequence of the level of development in middle-income countries. Thirdly, that neglecting the impact of cross-section dependence overestimates the coefficient linked to the long-run relationship between trade openness and development. Lastly, and most importantly, that these results are consistent for all the 20 middle-income sub-Saharan African countries included in the sample.