Globalisation and/or Europeanisation? The Case of Flexicurity

The relationship between globalisation and Europeanisation is conventionally studied by focusing on the domestic level. In this article we explore this relationship at the international level instead. We examine the way in which the two phenomena in the form of the ILO and the EU relate to one another. Adopting a discursive institutionalist approach and focusing on flexicurity, we investigate whether, how and under what conditions the discourse on flexicurity provides a point of convergence or divergence between globalisation and Europeanisation. Our empirical data reveals attempts by the European Commission to use globalisation as a legitimating device for a market-accommodating programme for labour market reform. The ILO remains more sceptical, both about the overall effects of globalisation and the more concrete uses of flexicurity. Meanwhile, the concept of flexicurity is subject to change and rearticulation in line with the evolving policy agenda endorsed by the Commission and/or the member states. The relationship between Europe and globalisation is thus far from neutral. ‘Europe’ is active in shaping globalisation; translated into the work undertaken here, Europeanisation could be conceived as a facet of globalisation rather than as a bulwark to it, or merely as a process running parallel to it.     

欧盟气候政策的利益导向及对中国的启示

自20世纪90年代以来,欧盟一直是全球气候谈判的主导者,其低碳技术领先全球,将世界各国尤其是美国、中国等排放大国纳入其主导的全球气候谈判体系符合欧盟三大布局主导下的核心战略目标.全球气候谈判的焦灼,迫使欧盟通过欧盟—拉美峰会、非加太—欧盟联合大会等平台,拉拢利益合作伙伴,以增加其主导气候谈判走向的砝码.欧盟气候政策的转变,削弱了气候谈判中以中国为代表的发展中国家谈判阵营的力量,使中国日益面临谈判伙伴减少,乃至被孤立的风险,增加了未来的谈判压力和难度.为此,中国要加紧对欧盟气候外交长期战略布局的研究,密切关注欧盟今后的气候外交政策动向,制定长期气候外交政策战略,同时加紧国内低碳转型的速度与力度.     

Communicating the ‘migrant’ other as risk: space,EU and expanding borders

Forced migration and border spaces as fault lines posing risks to society through the notion of ‘Othering’, remain under-explored in risk literature. With Europe facing its biggest humanitarian crisis with forced migration and displacement due to conflict zones, the borders of the European Union have received renewed attention in media. Refugees and the displaced are often depicted as ‘migrants’ and are seen as transgressing borders as illegitimate entities. Although increasing attention has been paid to border patrol and issues of securitization since 9/11, the ‘migrant’ body as ‘risky body’ in political and policy discussions is under-conceptualized and theorized in risk literature. We examine political discourses of the UK Government to discern how the migrant and the expanding borders of the EU are framed as forms of societal and economic risk and equally how these are mitigated with and through the discourse of space and borders. We take a constructionist approach to the ‘migrant’ problem in the EU and UK where risk is socially constructed through political discourse.     

Fiscal shocks and budget balance persistence in the EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyses the time series properties of the fiscal balance in the 10 EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The persistence of the fiscal balance is analysed by means of unit root tests that account for possible nonlinearities and structural changes. The linear and nonlinear unit root tests find only mild evidence in favour of the stationarity hypothesis, with asymmetric effects present in a few cases. After controlling for structural changes in the Data Generation Processes (DGPs), the results point to stationarity of the series. Thus, in spite of relatively steady headline figures, the budget balance processes in the EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe exhibit substantial instability.     

On inferring individual behaviour from market behaviour in a predetermined quantities model

This article develops the theoretical basis of individual behaviour recovered from market behaviour in a predetermined quantities model. As applied economists argue, an inverse demand system may be empirically sound within the framework of classical demand theory. However, it should not lead to the conclusion that the market responses for changes in quantity should be used to see welfare effects instead of the individual responses by price changes as far as the market is concerned. It shows theoretically and empirically how individual responses can be recovered from market responses in a predetermined quantities model. It suggests that the fundamental results of this article should be used on interpreting empirical results from the predetermined quantities models.     

Time-varying correlations in oil,gas and CO2 prices: an application using BEKK,CCC and DCC-MGARCH models

Previous literature has identified oil and gas prices as being the main drivers of CO₂ prices in a univariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) econometric framework (Alberola et al., 2008; Oberndorfer, 2009). By contrast, we argue in this article that the interrelationships between energy and emissions markets shall be modelled in a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) framework, so as to reflect the dynamics of the correlations between the oil, gas and CO₂ variables overtime. Using the Baba–Engle–Kraft–Kroner (BEKK), Constant Conditional Correlation (CCC) and Dynamic Conditional Correlation MGARCH (DCC-MGARCH) models on daily data from April 2005 to December 2008, we highlight significant own-volatility, cross-volatility spillovers, and own persistent volatility effects for nearly all markets, indicating the presence of strong Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH effects. Besides, we provide strong empirical evidence of time-varying correlations in the range of [?0.3;?0.3] between oil and gas, [?0.05;?0.05] between oil and CO₂, and [?0.2;?0.2] between gas and CO₂, that have not been considered by previous studies. These findings are of interest for traders and utilities in the energy sector, but also for a broader applied economics audience.     

欧盟成员国科技项目合作倾向分析--以欧盟框架计划为例

通过对欧盟框架计划中欧盟27国任意两国之间项目合作的计量分析,展示了欧盟成员国的科技项目结构,揭示出该合作结构的主要特征：科研特色和优势是影响欧盟成员国科学合作最重要的因素,地理因素次之,语言因素的倾向性相对最小。国家间的科技项目合作强度随着科研特色差异、地理距离和语言差异度的增大而降低,三者均呈负指数分布。     

Russia's Gas Sector: In Need of Liberalization in the Context of the Shale Gas Revolution and Energy Relations with the European Union

Rising gas production from nonconventional deposits in North America and the possibility of growth in the rest of the world pose a serious challenge to Russian energy interests. Although Russia has the largest proven gas reserves and is the number one exporter of fossil fuels, its position as a dominant gas supplier to the European Union (EU) is diminishing. This article examines the main problems of Russia's gas sector in the context of the shale gas revolution and the liberalization of the EU gas market. The article also analyses the perspectives of Russia's energy relations with EU countries and formulates some recommendations for them.     

EU ETS碳排放权期货研究综述

全球气候问题受到各国政府及国际组织的广泛重视,减少温室气体排放已经成为国际社会关注的焦点之一。以欧盟排放交易体系（EU ETS）为例,将有关碳排放权期货的研究文献进行梳理,并按照碳排放权配额的分配方案、影响碳排放权配额价格的主要因素以及碳排放权期货价格和现货价格之间的关系三方面展开,最后简述国际碳排放权市场给我国带来的启示。     

Bank merger and acquisitions activity in the EU: much ado about nothing?

This paper investigates the patterns of consolidation within the European banking industry and examines the efficiency of the banks involved in the merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity to determine whether their performance improved as a result of M&A decisions. The performance of these banks is compared with that of other large banks, which have chosen alternative routes of development. The period covered is 1998 to 2004. The findings suggest that banks involved in M&A activity are more efficient after the M&A or when compared with other large banks. Country-specific characteristics appear to play an important role in explaining the results.