World Environmental Organisation: A Latin American Perspective

This paper offers insight into environmental problems that Latin American countries are currently facing. It also looks at how their domestic and global spheres are intertwined, and subsequently outlines pending roblems that would need international support from a World Environmental Organistion (WEO). One of the hardest and most important tasks of such an Organisation would be to render the Northern and the Southern environmental agendas compatible. While opinions concur on what the principle environmental problems in Latin America are – eforestation and natural resources degradation – the perception of these problems is quite different between North and South. For the former, the most important impact of the situation is the reduction of CO2 capacity and the biodiversity loss, while the main concern in Latin America is the poverty stricken economy behind the deforestation process and the vulnerability of the population that results from such phenomenon. Advancing simultaneously on both these tracks seems essential for a genuine improvement in environmental performance in the region.     

An Internalisation‐based World Environmental Organisation

We evaluate the possibilities for a new World Environmental Organisation (WEO), with our discussion motivated both by recent calls for such an organisation in light of WTO trade and environment conflicts and the relative absence of internalisation of global externalities. We propose an organisation building upon the idea of facilitating Coasian deal on the global environment. We motivate the establishment of such an organisation by itemising the ways in which global environmental deals are presently restrained by various impediments, including free riding, property right ambiguities, and mechanisms for authentification and verification. We indicate how such a WEO might help in each of these areas, stressing the differences from the WTO which is a much narrower bargaining framework.     

Reviewing Proposals for a World Environmental Organisation

Since the Earth Summit in Rio 1992, several calls have been made for a world environmental organisation (WEO), and only during the last year, in the run‐up to Rio+10, five more have been added. In total, we have found 17 proposals for a WEO. We review, compare, and briefly discuss rationales, models, tasks, organisational set‐up, relations to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and organisations such as UNEP and the WTO, as well as the role of principles, compliance and the interest of developing countries. We conclude that a majority of proposers is in favour of an autonomous coordinating agency, that is, a medium level of integration. Frequently the WTO is mentioned as a precursor agency on which a WEO should be based. We question the effectiveness of a ‘WTO for the environment’ and suggest that other models ought to be considered.     

我国国际贸易的环境经济学分析

通过对我国国际贸易与生态环境的理论分析与实证分析,得出结论：国际贸易对中国生态环境的负的规模效应大大超过了正的结构效应和技术效应,因此,总效应为负：为了协调经济发展和环境保护的关系,必须实施一系列以实现可持续发展为目标的“绿色”政策措施,在享受国际贸易带来的收益的同时消除其对生态环境的不利影响。     

营造放心消费环境的生态视角

在构成消费活动的三大要素中,消费环境与消费主体、消费客体一样不可或缺。我们今天提出要营造放心的消费环境,这意味着必须在生态环境、社会环境(如市场环境、文化环境等)的各个侧面采取具有针对性的办法,以便全面发挥环境效应,推动消费,促进经济增长。本文拟就生态消费环境(以住房消费为例)的营造问题作些探讨,以期抛砖引玉。一、生态追求与营造放心消费环境在今天,令人放心的消费环境必然包括生态的内涵,必须竭力满足人们的生态需求。生态追求的凸显,肇始于人类直面生态问题日益严峻形势下环保意识的苏醒,一些工业文明的领跑国家在经历了…     

基于环境保护视角的企业社会责任

企业在现代社会中发挥着越来越重要的作用,在追求经济利益的同时也带来了严重的环境污染问题。企业对环境产生的影响与作用远远甚于个人,企业环境责任不仅关系到企业的长远发展,还关系到社会的可持续发展。本文从企业环境社会责任的含义出发,阐述了企业履行环境责任的依据以及在实际实施过程中的缺失,并对如何更好地履行环境社会责任提出相应的建议,以期对实现企业环境责任做出有所助益的探讨。     

全球视角下农产品价格上涨的原因探析

2006-2008年,以我国粮油为代表的主要农产品价格大幅上涨。在全球化背景下,农产品价格上涨是由下述三个因素共同影响推动而成的:美元贬值和石油价格上涨;需求强烈、供给增加缓慢的国际农产品供求状况;国内"供弱需强"的供求关系和政府保护的"两难悖论"。此外,国内其他因素如经济持续快速增长、流动性过剩、人民币升值等也间接影响着农产品价格的波动程度。     

Developing a Continuous Improvement Philosophy in a Marketing Organisation: An Examination of Key Events

This paper examines the process of quality improvement in a service and marketing organisation. This commenced with a number of disparate quality initiatives before the strategic business planning process indicated the need for a more structured approach. This two stage approach and the difficulties it caused are described. The company has faced a number of problems in the introduction of TQM, including a lack of senior management understanding of TQM and involvement, departments failing to follow through agreed actions and objectives, lack of support to teamwork and a failure to match up improvement projects to the skills and resources in the project teams.     

环境成本信息披露的国际比较及启示

随着可持续发展理念的深入,企业的利益相关者开始关注企业对环境受托责任的履行情况,越来越多的跨国公司开始披露企业的环境成本。依据环境成本信息披露的相关国际标准,弄清国外企业披露环境成本信息的方式与内容,同时为我国企业环境成本的信息披露与国际接轨采取相应措施。     

An Ethical Perspective on CEO Compensation

The controversial issue of whether Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation is excessive or appropriate is examined in terms of two competing claims: that CEOs are overpaid for the value they provide to an enterprise, and that CEO compensation is inherently equitable. Various arguments and perspectives on both sides of the issue are assessed. Little evidence supports the claim that CEO performance justifies very high compensation. Further, the complex interactive alliance between boards of directors and CEOs compromises rational decision-making about CEO compensation, with the Enron affair offered as an illustration of what can go wrong when dishonest CEO actions combine with lax board oversight. Recommendations for restoring trust in the system include continuing current regulatory actions, using different metrics for determining CEO compensation, making board member-CEO relationships transparent to all company stakeholders, and several more radical ideas for change. Stakeholders must resist being distracted by other social, economic, or political issues from pursuing serious, lasting reform.     

环境管制、环境效率与FDI——基于成本视角分析

环境管制和环境效率均从成本角度影响着FDI的流向,前者通过直接增加外资企业成本,降低投资东道国的环境成本优势,引致FDI外流;后者则直接通过减少非期望产出从而提高外商投资企业的环境成本优势。此外环境效率还通过减少污染物排放影响地区环境管制的强度,进而促使环境管制程度降低,间接影响FDI。本文试图在理论层面证明环境成本是决定外资企业是否转移的重要原因,从经验层面研究环境管制、环境效率对FDI的直接效应和间接效应,结果表明:从直接效应上看,环境管制的加强对FDI表现为消极影响,而环境效率提高则有利于吸引FDI;从间接效应上看,环境效率的提高通过降低环境管制强度间接有利于FDI流入,而这一效用以OLS、FGLS、FE和GMM等四种方法估计分别为0.03%,0.04%,0.04%和0.02%。     

胎动的2005世界客车博览亚洲展览会

第五届世界客车博览亚洲展览会将于2005年3月15日—17日在上海新国际博览中心再度隆重举行。届时国内外客车业巨头将再次汇聚，聚焦上海滩。在中国加入世界贸易组织、调整进出口关税以及国内客车、业并购重组的市场大环境下，国内客车市场已进入群雄争霸的战国时代。届时主办单位将利用其强大的国     

From Reality to World. A Critical Perspective on AI Fairness

Journal of Business Ethics - Fairness of Artificial Intelligence (AI) decisions has become a big challenge for governments, companies, and societies. We offer a theoretical contribution to consider...     

Trade Policies in Southeast Asia in the Wider Asian Perspective

This paper takes stock of trade policies in Southeast Asia after the Asian crisis and in the wake of the current global economic crisis. It compares trade policies in individual Southeast Asian countries; places them in the context of regional and global economic integration; and particularly draws implications for the region from the rise of China and India. The first section looks at recent trade and FDI patterns in Southeast Asia. Then follows an overview of key trade‐policy trends, in the region overall and in individual countries. The next sections examine ASEAN countries in international trade negotiations and agreements: first in the WTO, especially in the Doha Round; then within ASEAN; and finally on cross‐regional FTAs. The paper concludes that ASEAN countries cannot rely on external tracks ‘from above’ for meaningful trade policy reform. Since the Asian crisis there has been a slowdown of reform momentum, and too much reliance on trade negotiations – especially FTAs. Rather, countries in the region have to rely on themselves –‘from below’ as it were. The engine of liberalisation and regulatory reform has to be home‐driven – as it was before the Asian crisis – with governments taking unilateral measures in response to internal and external conditions.     

Measuring the Implementation of Codes of Conduct. An Assessment Method Based on a Process Approach of the Responsible Organisation

More and more organisations formulate a code of conduct in order to stimulate responsible behaviour among their members. Much time and energy is usually spent fixing the content of the code but many organisations get stuck in the challenge of implementing and maintaining the code. The code then turns into nothing else than the notorious "paper in the drawer", without achieving its aims. The challenge of implementation is to utilize the dynamics which have emerged from the formulation of the code. This will support a continuous process of reflection on the central values and standards contained in the code. This paper presents an assessment method, based on the EFQM model, which intends to support this implementation process.     

In Search of a Common Ethical Ground: Corporate Environmental Responsibility from the Perspective of Christian Environmental Stewardship

In recent years, corporate environmental policies have become urgently needed, demanded by influential environmentalist groups and launched by an increasing number of companies. Those demands and efforts, however, often lack an ethical underpinning. This paper deals with some basic ethical issues and outlines three perspectives for further investigation: (1) How can we take into account ethical pluralism that characterizes most contemporary societies?; (2) What is the content of environmental ethics viewed from a Christian perspective, taken as an example of various existent doctrines in the pluralistic world?; and (3) What relevance may this "Christian environmental stewardship" have for the understanding of corporate environmental responsibility?