Abolish the Poverty Trap

The measures proposed in the Green Paper on Social Security will do little to remove the poverty trap. Professor Michael Beenstock and Michael Parker, of the City University Business School, condemn the Government's proposals as vacuous, ill-considered and hall-hearted. The proposals in the Green Paper would intensity the poverty trap for some by weakening incentives to work.     

Regulating Audit beyond the Crisis: A Critical Discussion of the EU Green Paper

With the European Commission making global leadership claims in the field of audit regulation, the content of its 2010 Green Paper on ‘Audit Policy: Lessons from the Crisis’ warrants careful scrutiny. Important issues raised in the Green Paper include regulatory oversight, competition in the audit market, the dangers of having very few firms with the capacity to audit global transnational corporations, professional judgement, innovative audit practices and, last but not least, social responsibility. This article analyses the principal perspectives and assumptions underpinning the construction of the Green Paper. The aims are threefold: to enhance understanding of the contemporary regulatory mindset of the European Commission, contribute to policy debate and inspire future research.     

No Case for Home-Taping Levy

Successive Governments have been unremittingly lobbied by the recording industry to impose a levy on blank cassette tapes to compensate it for the'negative externality' of home taping. Thomas Coskeran argues that the Government should rescind the Green Paper and seek a solution in the re-allocation of property rights.     

The legal professions and trade unionism: the ‘Dicey’ dilemma

Are the legal professions simply glorified trade unions? In 1867 Dicey's consideration of the question proved inconclusive. Recent evidence, culminating in the trade union like defence of their practices by the professions following the Government's 1989 Green Paper, seems to have resolved his dilemma.     

Pensions Nightmare after 1999

Economists have long argued that the current state method of financing old-age pensions is a time-bomb that may blow up in the lap of future generations. Professor Norman Barry (right), of the University of Buckingham, welcomes the proposals in the Green Paper on welfare but argues that government must act much more rapidly to avoid burdening future Britons with the enormous dimensions of the pensions of the debt the American Government is building up fonts coming citizens.     

Sex and the state: will Supporting Families help or harm the family?

The Green Paper, Supporting Families , is a remarkable hotchpotch of conceptual confusion, logical contradiction and empirical obtuseness. Its message is that there is little to choose between the socially supported institutional family of life-long monogamy and any private arrangement for handling sexuality, procreation and child-rearing, the state claiming that it can and will deal with the problems. But Supporting Families merely echoes the 'arguments,' and reflects the prejudices, of anti-family commentators in politics, education, pressure groups and the media. The personal, social and economic problems of the dismemberment of the institutional family will not be solved until public opinion rejects this consensual muddle.     

A new contract for welfare: partnership in pensions

The government's Green Paper proposes reducing state pension costs whilst encouraging private sector provision. The success of the proposed ‘stakeholder pension schemes’ depends on regulation. However, regulation can penalise those it is intended to protect. This is a sensitive issue, since stakeholder pension schemes are expected to attract financially vulnerable, lower paid, employees. Whilst the flat rate accrual of the state second pension confers some benefit, certain groups are put in a difficult position by the retention of means-tested benefits.     

Comment:The Statistical Relationship between the Money Supply and the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement

A controversy has recently broken out as to whether the PSBR influences the money supply in the UK. Clearly if this relationship does not exist much of the basis of the government's macroeconomic strategy falls away since the government is acting on the assumption that by controlling the PSBR it will be able to control money supply growth and hence inflation in the medium term. This argument has been forcibly stated in the recent Green Paper on Monetary Control (Cmnd 7858) and is enshrined in the Medium-term Financial Strategy that was announced in the March Budget.     

Reinventing auditing,redefining consulting and independence

This paper deals with recent developments in auditing, taking KPMG's ‘business measurement process’ as its example. From this example it is discussed how and why auditing is currently being ‘reinvented’. The ‘reinvention’ of auditing, it is argued, represents a fundamental break with the established epistemological dualism between auditing and management advisory services,¹ that is central to most literature on auditor independence, including the European Commission's Green Paper. Consequently, it is not only auditing that is being reinvented, it is also consulting and independence, and the consequences of this rupture are finally discussed. The paper concludes that the auditor cannot be independent because auditing is no longer independent.     

Are Joint Audits Associated with Higher Audit Fees?

In its October 2010 Green Paper on audit policy, the European Commission suggested that joint audits might be a way of improving the audit market in Europe. However, some parties consider that a joint audit system is not an efficient solution because the perceived improvements in audit quality, if any, are not commensurate with the significant increase in audit fees. We compare audit fees paid during the years 2007–2011 by listed companies in France, where joint audits are mandatory, with those paid by British and Italian companies. Theory suggests that audit fees in countries with high investor protection, such as the UK, are likely to be greater than those in countries with lower investor protection, such as France and Italy, ceteris paribus. However, we find significantly higher audit fees in France after controlling for well-documented auditor, client, and engagement attributes, which vary across countries. Furthermore, since we do not find statistically significant differences in the magnitude of abnormal accruals, the higher audit fees observed in France do not appear to be associated with higher audit quality.     

绿色壁垒与应对策略

一些国家设置的绿色壁垒已经成为我国扩大出口的重要障碍。绿色壁垒具有两重性，既有推动世界经济实现绿色化的积极意义，又是一些发达国家以合理的籍口对不发达国家进行不合理贸易保护主义的措施。我国做为出口大国，应当正确面对绿色壁垒，切实从积极方面制定对策，以保证在国际经济发展绿色化的进程中，长期稳固的保持我国的出口优势。     

Green Online vs Green Offline preferences on local public goods trade-offs and house prices

This paper focuses on the relationship between (i) house prices and (ii) local green public goods. The main objective of the paper is to analyse a specific house-pricing mechanism which reflects the utility of being Green Offline, i.e. having access to green areas, versus the utility derived from the ability to be Green Online. The focus will be on data from European Union countries, and in particular Germany. Our results show that on an aggregate level for the EU there appears to be a clear indication for an irrational house-pricing mechanism, ignoring the negative trade-off effect from Green Online and Green Offline public investments (goods and assets). Meanwhile, on an individual level, for the case of Germany, more detailed bounded rationality effects of fashion-driven supply on house pricing are observed, positively related to Green Online values but negatively related to high Green Offline preferences. In conclusion, we find that house prices throughout Europe do not reflect a rational social change in green preferences, but tend to irrationally overprice Green Online values, which may create instability on the local housing market in the long run.     

Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US

Sustainable development has received increasing attention in recent literature, driven by increased environmental concerns. We study the influence of green initiatives and green performance on financial performance for the top 500 publicly traded companies in the USA by industry sector. Green initiatives are measured using the concepts Green Pay Link, Sustainability Themed Committee and Audit. Green performance is measured using Energy Productivity, Carbon Productivity, Water Productivity, Waste Productivity and Green Reputation. The results show that green initiatives have a negative impact on Energy Productivity and Green Reputation, and that both green initiatives and green performance have a significant impact on financial performance. These results are mixed and vary by industry sector. The results suggest that companies take a reactive, not proactive, approach in the implementation of green initiatives. In addition, the results suggest that the impact of green performance on financial performance is not immediate, and may take more than a year for companies to observe. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

绿色物流的可持续发展——浅谈耐克仓储工厂箱的回收利用

绿色物流是融入了环境可持续发展理念的物流活动。其可以达到降低环境污染、减少资源消耗的目的。绿色物流建立在物流进一步发展的基础上,使物流操作和管理全程的绿色化,具体包括绿色交通运输、绿色仓储与保管、绿色包装、绿色信息搜集和管理,绿色物流是全球经济一体化和可持续发展的必然要求,有利于增强企业的竞争优势。以耐克物流半年包装数据作为依据,通过改变计划系统参数和逻辑的设定,探讨了如何通过使用回收工厂箱的使用来达到可持续性发展。     

The Public Expenditure Debate

This Briefing Paper is concerned with the structural implications of public expenditure for economic performance. It examines the growing role of public expenditure in Britain over the past hundred years, and compares the current share of public spending in the UK with that in other developed countries. Since overall public expenditure does not appear to be a useful concept in the context of the structural debate, the distinctions between different types of public expenditure are emphasised The main purpose of the Briefing Paper is to clarify the current debate.     

中新天津生态城绿色建筑评价体系及技术指标应用

本文简要介绍了国内外的绿色建筑评价体系,中新天津生态城于2009年10月发布了《中新天津生态城绿色建筑评价标准》及《技术细则》,该评价体系为天津生态城绿色建筑的规划、勘察、设计、建设和管理提供详细的评判依据。     

“绿色北京”:文明城市建设的新实践

绿色北京是北京市总结绿色奥运经验,拓展未来城市环境发展的重大战略措施。阐述了绿色北京的内涵、行动目标、保障措施,揭示出绿色北京是北京建设国际大都市、宜居城市的更高标准和宏大愿景,是坚持人与自然和谐发展,走可持续发展道路的具体行动。在生态城市成为世界城市发展又一追求目标的背景下,从文明城市建设的角度阐述了生态文明在文明城市建设中的突出地位,认为绿色北京不仅将推进首都文明城市的建设,也将丰富文明城市创建的理论和实践。     

实行经济的“绿色发展”创建社会的和谐氛围——对“和谐社会”的经济学解读

“和谐社会”是2005年全国人大和政协“两会”上讨论的重点话题和主题。“和谐社会”的提出体现了新一届领导集体执政方式、理念的进步与完善,是经济发展到一定阶段的必然选择和要求。在存在一些不和谐因素的情况下提出建立“和谐社会”,目标虽明确,道路却艰难。正视不和谐才能建设和谐。因此,我们应通过经济的“绿色发展”解决不和谐因素,置社会的和谐于经济的“绿色发展”基础之上。为此,本文分析了作者对“和谐社会”的认识;进而分析了现实社会中的不和谐因素;继之解释何为经济的“绿色发展”?如何通过“绿色发展”,解决现实中的不和谐因素,创建社会的和谐氛围。     

金东纸业“全面绩效管理”模式研究

在理论分析的基础上．提出了基于金东纸业发展战略需要而量身设计的绩效管理模型,即“全面绩效管理”模式。并通过对“全面绩效管理”模式在金东纸业实际运用的全面解析,为企业绩效管理体系的设计和改进提供可靠借鉴和真实依据。     

Book Review Essay

Book reviewed in this article: Internationalism and the European Green Movement : Bahro, R. Internationalism and the European Green Movement : Capra, F. and Spretnak, C. Internationalism and the European Green Movement : Lowe, P. and Goyder, J. Internationalism and the European Green Movement : Vitale, L.