Students new to the study of EU law can find knowing what questions to ask to be as much of a challenge as answering them. This book clearly sets the scene: it explores the history and institutions of the EU, examines the interplay of its main bodies in its legislative process and illustrates the role played by the EU Courts and the importance of fundamental rights. The student is also introduced to the key principles of the internal market, in particular the free movement of goods and the free movement of workers. In addition a number of other EU policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy, Environmental Protection and Social Policy are outlined, while a more detailed inquiry is made into European competition law. This book is an essential first port-of-call for all students of European law
Abstract This article discusses the ideational motivations behind China's connectivity projects, most notably the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and aims to explore which values these infrastructure projects seek to promote. The article is based on various published sources, including Chinese official, and public policy statements. Specifically, those statements and policy papers are qualitatively analyzed through a reflection of their manifested message against the background of Chinese International Relations-related discussions on Chinese worldviews. Based on this analysis, the article argues that China's connectivity projects may be perceived as part of China's ideational competition with the West, culminating in the presentation of "Chinese values" as a viable alternative to "universal values."
AbstractThis article discusses the ideational motivations behind China's connectivity projects, most notably the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and aims to explore which values these infrastructure projects seek to promote. The article is based on various published sources, including Chinese official, and public policy statements. Specifically, those statements and policy papers are qualitatively analyzed through a reflection of their manifested message against the background of Chinese International Relations-related discussions on Chinese worldviews. Based on this analysis, the article argues that China's connectivity projects may be perceived as part of China's ideational competition with the West, culminating in the presentation of "Chinese values" as a viable alternative to "universal values."
The objective of this report is to provide an update to the Government of Cabo Verde, think-tanks and researchers, and the public on the state of the Cabo Verde economy and its outlook, together with the structural reforms required to strengthen the foundations for private sector-led recovery from the COVID-19 crises. The report begins with a chapter on recent economic developments, the medium-term outlook, and risks. It includes sections on growth, fiscal policy, public debt, the external sector, monetary developments, and inflation. The second chapter stresses the importance of improving the investment climate to leverage the role of the private sector for an inclusive economic recovery. It provides an overview of key challenges and actionable policy priorities around foreign direct investment, the business environment, and competition.
The Arctic's melting ice not only acts as an early warning system for the world's climate, but also makes this region an indicator of change for international security policy. The Trump administration sees the Arctic primarily as an arena of competition between great powers. This could both benefit and harm the region. A greater engagement on the part of the USA would be welcome, but if it comes with an attempt to exclude other states, this would damage the high level of cooperation that has held sway in the Arctic thus far. US Arctic policy has become a variable that is dependent on great-power rivalry. The resulting polarisation of relations makes it difficult to find the necessary common solutions for coping with the changes caused by global warming.
AbstractWe introduce a Downsian model in which policy‐relevant information is revealed to the elected politician after the election. The electorate benefits from giving the elected politician discretion to adapt policies to his information. But limits on discretion are desirable when politicians do not share the electorate's policy preferences. Optimal political representation generally consists of a mixture of the delegate (no discretion) and trustee (full discretion) models. Ambiguous electoral platforms are essential for achieving beneficial representation. Nevertheless, electoral competition does not ensure optimal representation: The winning candidate's platform is generally overly ambiguous. While our theory rationalizes a positive correlation between ambiguity and electoral success, it shows that the relationship need not be causal.
We argue that political competition based on income redistribution a la Lindbeck and Weibull (Public Choice 52:273-297, 1987) may cause distortive regulation in a competitive sector. For this purpose, we propose a model in which imposing a production quota allows the extraction of rents that are then used for vote-buying purposes. Our model permits us to analyze the response of regulatory policy to political factors, such as the size of a group of informed voters and the accuracy of their information about the incumbent. We also show that the extent of voter influence on policy outcomes is shaped by the state of market demand. In particular, if demand becomes weaker, market intervention increases in a magnitude that depends positively on the electoral weight of informed voters. Adapted from the source document.
International audience ; The international community currently favours an approach to development that stresses a triangular linkage between security, good governance and economic development. This approach clearly informs the European Union's agenda in Africa, which has progressively integrated governance and security elements. This paper will show that this agenda is at least as much determined by the bureaucratic and national affiliations of the concerned EU actors as it is by African realities and international trends. African security indeed triggers a competition between the different European institutions, eager to be the driving force for a policy that can offer some additional resources and autonomy. The consistency and the credibility of the EU security policy in Africa will therefore depend on the responses provided to these institutional rivalries.
This paper offers a cartel explanation for the stability of German collective bargaining institutions.We show that a dense net of legal safeguards has been yarned around the wage setting cartel. These measures make deviation by cartel insiders less attractive and simultaneously erect entry barriers for alternative unions. As we argue many recent labor policy measures, which make wages more flexible, serve to further stabilize the labor cartel, while truly pro-competitive proposals have not been implemented exactly because of their destabilizing effects.We propose policy measures that remove entry barriers and facilitate outside competition by alternative collective bargaining organizations.
A one-dimensional model of spatial political competition with endogenous party formation is developed. It is proved that at equilibrium there are only two parties. These parties propose alternatives in the extreme positions of the policy space. The adopted policy, however, is a compromise between these two extremes ; The second author wishes to acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education, projects no. PB93-0940, PB94-1504 and D.G.I.C.Y.T. mobility grant ; The first author is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The second author wishes to acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education, projects no. PB93-0940, PB94-1504 and D.G.I.C.Y.T. mobility grant ; Publicado
Theories of integration fail to explain the stop-and-go nature of European integration. This failures stems from their one-sided attention to either the member states or the institutions of the European Union (EU). The process of integration is best described as one of action and reaction, involving the institutions of the EU, member states, and interest groups. Governments respond to European integration in one policy area by intervening more in adjacent areas, thus inducing policy competition between national states. When their rivalry becomes counterproductive, member states will be motivated to take new steps toward further integration. This interpretation explains the stop-and-go rhythm of European integration and results in a new theoretical framework termed 'dialectical functionalism.'
In: Hämäläinen , R-M , Aro , A R , van de Goor , I , Lau , C J , Jakobsen , M W , Chereches , R M & Syed , A M 2015 , ' Exploring the use of research evidence in health-enhancing physical activity policies ' , Evidence and Policy , vol. 13 , no. 1 , 43 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-015-0047-2
Background: The gaps observed between the use of research evidence and policy have been reported to be based on the different methods of using research evidence in policymaking by researchers and actual policymakers. Some policies and policymaking processes may therefore be particularly well informed by research evidence compared to others. The aims of the present article are to explore the use of research evidence in health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) policies, identify when research evidence was used, and find what other types of evidence were employed in HEPA policymaking. Methods: Multidisciplinary teams from six EU member states analysed the use of research evidence and other kinds of evidence in 21 HEPA policies and interviewed 86 key policymakers involved in the policies. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on both policy documents and interview data. Results: Research evidence was mostly used to justify the creation of HEPA policies and, generally, implicitly without citation. The policies analysed used many types of evidence other than citable research. The evidence used in HEPA policies was found to fall into the following categories: societal framework, media, everyday knowledge and intuition, research evidence, and other types of evidence. Conclusions: Research evidence seems to be the only type of evidence used in policymaking. Competition between the use of other types of evidence and research evidence is constant due to the various sources of information on the Internet and elsewhere. However, researchers need to understand their role in translating research evidence into policymaking processes.
Global Financial Development Report 2013 is the first in a new World Bank series. It provides a unique contribution to financial sector policy debates, building on novel data, surveys, research, and wide-ranging country experience, with emphasis on emerging-market and developing economies. The global financial crisis has challenged conventional thinking on financial sector policies. Launched on the fourth anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse-a turning point in the crisis-this volume re-examines a basic question: what is the proper role of the state in financial development? To address the question, this report synthesizes new and existing evidence on the state's performance as financial sector regulator, overseer, promoter, and owner. It calls on state agencies to provide strong regulation and supervision and ensure healthy competition in the sector, and to support financial infrastructure, such as the quality and availability of credit information. It also warns that direct interventions-such as lending by state-owned banks, used in many countries to counteract the crisis-may end up being harmful. The report also tracks financial systems in more than 200 economies before and during the global financial crisis.The report's findings and policy recommendations are relevant for policy makers; staff of central banks, ministries of finance, and financial regulation agencies; nongovernmental organizations and donors; academics and other researchers and analysts; and members of the finance and development community
by Xueyi Chen. ; Thesis submitted in: December 1997. ; Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. ; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-106). ; Abstract also in Chinese. ; Table of Contents ; Abbreviations ; Timeline ; Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction ; Chapter 1.1 --- Purpose and Significance ; Chapter 1.2 --- Thesis Structure ; Chapter Chapter 2 --- Historical Background ; Chapter 2.1 --- Development of China's Stock Markets ; Chapter 2.2 --- Paradox in China's Stock Markets ; Chapter 2.3 --- Stock News Reporting in China ; Chapter Chapter 3 --- Literature Review ; Chapter 3.1 --- The Perspective of Political Economy: An Overview ; Chapter 3.2 --- The Political Economy of China's Party Press: Change and Continuity ; Chapter 3.2.1 --- "In the Mao Era: The Chinese Press as Propagandist, Agitator and Organizer" ; Chapter 3.2.2 --- In the Era of Economic Reform: A Paradigm Shift ; Chapter Chapter 4 --- Assumptions ; Chapter Chapter 5 --- Methodology ; Chapter 5.1 --- Four Periods: Operational Definitions for the Interplay of State Controls and Market Forces ; Chapter 5.2 --- Contexts of the Field Study ; Chapter 5.3 --- Research Procedures ; Chapter 5.2.1 --- Content Analysis ; Chapter 5.2.2 --- In-depth Interview ; Chapter 5.2.3 --- Documentary Analysis ; Chapter 5.2.4 --- Participant Observation ; Chapter Chapter 6 --- Stock News Reporting under State-Market Dynamics ; Chapter 6.1 --- The Period of Initial Reforms: From the Early 1980s to the Mid-1980s ; Chapter 6.1.1 --- Continuing State Controls ; Chapter 6.1.2 --- Absence of Market and Competition ; Chapter 6.1.3 --- Content Pattern: Ideological Orthodoxy ; Chapter 6.1.4 --- Reporting Mode: Orthodox Reporting ; Chapter 6.2 --- The Period of Continuing Reforms: From the Mid-1980s to the Late1980s ; Chapter 6.2.1 --- Relaxed State Controls ; Chapter 6.2.2 --- Emerging Competition ; Chapter 6.2.3 --- Content Changes: Minor Departures from Ideological Orthodoxy ; Chapter 6.2.4 --- Reporting Mode: Orthodox Reporting with Increased ...
A novel theory of harm is crystallising in European Union ("EU") merger control. Under this theory, the EU Commission ("Commission") can intervene in mergers that it considers generally reduce innovation incentives in an industry as a whole. This theory of harm can be referred to as the Significant Impediment to Industry Innovation ("SIII") theory. This policy paper first attempts to describe the content and extent of the SIII theory (I). Second, it shows that the SIII theory marks a departure from established EU merger control practice (II). Third, it discusses the economic foundations of the SIII theory (III). Finally, it puts forward best practices for the assessment of mergers in R&D intensive industries (IV). With this, the present paper hopes to assist the development of sound merger control policy in innovative markets, and undermine crude conjectures on the relationship between market structure, patent statistics and industry innovation theory.