Business and the genesis of the European Community carbon tax proposal

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of business in the regulatory process associated with the carbon tax proposal. The first part of the paper describes the Community's climate change policy, noting first the essential features of Community environment policy-making, the role of consultation with industry and the significance of the ‘subsidiarity’ principle. This part of the paper moves on to examine the carbon tax proposal and its evolution since 1990. The second part of the paper addresses the specific role which business played in influencing the development of the carbon tax proposal. The general strategy of business was to block the proposal entirely. The paper identifies the potential impacts of the tax on business, implications for corporate strategies and the specific channels through which business influenced the tax proposal, by participating in public debates, through representations to different directorates of the European Commission or by making a case to national authorities. The final part of the paper attempts to draw some lessons about: the business position in relation to large scale environmental problems such as climate change; business responses to economic instruments such as the carbon/energy tax; and the wider relationship between public authorities and business in regulatory processes. The question of whether this relationship has entered a new phase or whether there is still ‘business as usual’ is addressed.     

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FARM INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN LDCs

There were remarkable and sustained increases in agricultural and food production in the developing countries over the last three decades. But the fruits of this progress were not shared by all, and many remain in poverty. Some believe this due to the unequal distribution of benefits and accordingly claim that an agricultural strategy which focuses on reducing disparities of income, assets and access is the most important objective for agricultural development. This approach is justified by claims of wide and increasing disparities of income in the agricultural sectors of LDCs. This paper looks at the evidence for such claims and finds that they cannot be supported by hard evidence. Indeed, the few valid studies of agricultural income distribution show modest disparities. Accordingly, redistribution strategies, especially those aimed at uni-modal farm sectors, are rejected as unnecessary, undesirable and unachievable (without destroying the main spring of agricultural progress). On the contrary, it is urged that growth in productivity, output and incomes should be the dominant development objective to encourage, as many examples show, the enterprise, ability and energy of small farmers and their families. Such a strategy produces a degree of unequal distribution of benefits which reflects the distribution of personal qualities and endowments and acts as an incentive to their exercise. To keep disparities within bounds, agricultural policies relating to pricing, extension, credit, research and so on should aim at widening the number of small farmer beneficiaries of agricultural development.     

Reviews

“Urban unemployment”

Hasluck, C., 1987: Urban Unemployment: Local labour markets and employment initiatives. London, Longman, £6.95 paper.

“Property and industrial development”

Fothergill, S., Monk, S. and Perry, M. 1387: Property and Industrial Development London: Hutchinson, £12.95 paper.

“High-tech”

Breheny, M. J. and McQuaid, R. W. 1987: The Development of High Technology Industries: An International Survey. London: Croom Helm, £35.00.

Monde, C. (ed), 1986: Science Parks -- Their Contribution to Economic Growth. Birmingham: UK Science Parks Association, £15.00 paper.

“American perspectives”

Bergman, Edward M. Editor 1986: Local Economies in Transition: Policy Realities and Development Potentials. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, $40.00 cloth, $16.95, paper.

“Marginal regions”

O'Cearbhaill, D. and Cawley, M. (editors) 1986: New approaches to the development of Marginal Regions, 8th International Seminar on Marginal Regions in association with University College Galway, 3 Vote: no price stated.

“Training without jobs”

Finn, Dan 1987: Training Without Jobs:New Deals and Broken Promises:From Raising the School Leaving Age to the Youth Training Scheme. London: Macmillan £6.95.

“The coopera tive workplace”

Rothschild, J. and Whitt, A. J. 1986: The Cooperative Workplace: potentials and dilemmas of organizational democracy and participation. USA: American Sociological Association Rose Monograph Series, Cambridge University Press. No price stated.

“Opposition to plant closures”

Maunders, A. 1986: A Process of Struggle. Aldershot: Gower £20.00 cloth.

“Property data”

Investment Property Databank, 1987: The IPD Annual Review 1987 London, £45.

“Urban economic development”

Hausner.V. A. (editor) 1987: Critical Issues in Urban Economic Development. Volume II. Oxford: Clarendon Press, £22.50 hardback.     

Nonlinear stochastic effects of substitution — an evolutionary approach

Technological innovations have been investigated by means of substitution and diffusion as well as evolution models, each of them dealing with different aspects of the innovation problem. In this paper we follow the well known research traditions on self-organisation models of complex systems. For the first time in the literature we show the existence of a specific niche effect, which may occur in the first stage of establishment of a new technology. Using a stochastic Master equation approach, we obtain analytical expressions for the survival probabilities of a new technology in smaller or larger ensembles. As a main result we demonstrate how a hyperselection situation might be removed in a stochastic picture and thresholds against the prevailing of a new technology in a step-by-step process can be overcome.     

Alternative Lending Channels and the Crisis in U.S. Housing Markets

To what degree has the development of alternative mortgage funding channels promoted the recent boom and bust in U.S. housing markets? Past research examined whether Alt‐A and subprime market shares are correlated with the housing bubble. This article expands the analysis to include the share of specific “alternative” lending terms and finds that the shares of interest‐only and negative amortization loans are important factors in explaining the housing bubble. This result suggests that research on the housing market bubble should focus on the impacts of loan contract terms rather than loan channel.     

Citizen attitude and expectation towards greenspace provision in compact urban milieu

Residents’ views are pertinent in urban-park design and management, yet they are often ignored. Social-empirical studies could enhance socially relevant park design. As a compact city, Hong Kong's limited greenspaces are often too small, surrounded by incompatible activities, and fail to meet user demands and expectations. This study explores the response of citizens living in the crowded urban milieu to inadequate greenspace provision. A questionnaire survey gleaned opinion from residents in representative residential neighbourhoods in old city and new towns. Green sites are appreciated more for pragmatic microclimatic and amenity benefits than social and high-order environmental functions. The principal limitations are deficiency in sports facilities and greenery. Respondents favour more trees, dispersed seating design and large parks. The preferences are mainly related to age, income, education and retirement status. The high-density living milieu may have weakened attitude and perception towards urban nature. The findings could inform public policies and programmes on urban parks. They call for an institutional restructuring to facilitate active public engagement in greenspace planning and management.     

Understanding skilled migrants’ employment in the host country: a multidisciplinary review and a conceptual model

Abstract

Globalization has led to an increase in international mobility in many occupational fields. Therefore, scholars from a variety of disciplines have studied the topic of skilled migration. The purpose of this study is to review and synthesize the empirical research on skilled migrants’ qualification-matched employment across multiple disciplines. Skilled migrants are people on the move who possess university degrees or extensive work experience in professional fields when they leave their countries of origin to seek employment elsewhere. This review synthesizes findings of 106 empirical studies published from 1990 to mid-2017 on skilled migrants’ employment. We develop a conceptual model that includes antecedent conditions associated with skilled migrant qualification-matched employment in their host country and its outcomes. We also highlight the role of multilevel factors and moderating variables associated with skilled migrants’ possibility of obtaining qualification-matched employment. Our review has implications for human resource scholars and practitioners concerned with skilled migrants’ employment and labor market.