Suchergebnisse

Globalization brings the perceived need for offsetting the effects of deregulation & world competition through harmonization & regulations. The author searches for an acceptable explanation for this approach & for counterarguments to explain its errors. The optimal degree of diversification & homogenization is determined by competition as producers are given free entry into markets. The current transformation of productive structures from big production units to a network style of producing suggests that a transformation of nations could evolve in parallel; functional federalism & competition are preferable to political integration. Harmonization is essentially the suppression of differences; whereas in a free market people seek for optimal differentiation. It is the diversity of standards, not set rules & standards, which bring innovations & profits to consumers. International public goods result in no one bearing direct responsibility for damages caused to specific individuals. It is the network of individuals, interdependent, but exercising individual rights, who use the price system & the judicial system to find solutions to their problems. 4 References. L. A. Hoffman

It is a widely acknowledged result of the literature on capital tax competition that underprovision of public goods can only be avoided if tax coordination between governments is intensive and residence-based capital taxation can be enforced. In this paper we use a model where commodity and factor taxes are available and we show that governments competing for tax bases will choose a globally efficient tax structure. In contrast to previous conclusions, we also show that the availability of a destination-based commodity tax or a labor tax is necessary to mitigate the problem of inefficient Nash equilibria and thus reduces the necessity of supranational tax harmonization or coordination.

It is well known that efforts to achieve worldwide harmonization of patent systems are not yet complete. Early work on building a complete system, however, started as early as the late 19th century, when the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property was concluded. Since that time, many steps towards a comprehensive harmonization of patent legislation have been taken on the national, regional and worldwide levels. The present contribution outlines these efforts and attempts to demonstrate that current developments are preparing the path for further harmonization of patent law in the future, whereby modern information technologies may play a decisive role. For the World Intellectual Property Organization, the main challenges consist in finalizing the Patent Law Treaty on patent formalities at a Diplomatic Conference in May and June of this year, and, subsequently, to endeavor to further harmonize patent laws as well as to study possible developments of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In order to fully achieve these goals, it will be necessary that all circles involved concentrate their attention on further cost reductions and simplification of patent procedures in the interests of the users of the patent system worldwide.