From Bismarck to Friedman

Chile provides the most frequently quoted example of a change from an established state PAYGO pension system to a privately funded scheme based on personal savings. Most of the key results have been impressive and a lot of the often-heard criticisms of funded schemes have been disproved. A number of shortcomings remain. These shortcomings are seldom caused by features inherent to funded schemes, but rather by elements specific to the Chilean arrangement which could be altered given the political will.     

From European Union to European Monetary Union: the new member states and accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe in 2004

The 10 new member states and candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe have made the institutional reforms embodied in the acquis communautaire, including developing institutions of social dialogue which are supposed to ease the path to entry into the European Monetary Union (EMU). This review assesses the challenges facing the Central and Eastern European countries in achieving the targets set for EMU entry and questions whether the existing institutions of social dialogue will be able to bear the strain of achieving those targets.     

The economy of Portugal and the European Union: From high growth prospects to the debt crisis

This paper documents some of the recent economic history of Portugal, since its accession to the EEC, to the adoption of the Euro and more recently to the financial and economic crisis. In the first part of the paper we show the economic performance of Portugal during the last 25 years till now, from the fast growth of the late 1980s and early 1990s to the current recession. We point out some of the reasons for this trajectory – slow productivity growth, disconnection between productivity and wages, continued external and public deficits – and choose three areas that must be improved in order to reverse the current downward spiral – justice needs to be more effective and faster, education needs to improve its quality and distribution across the population, and the public administration must become more efficient.     

Maastricht: a fundamental change in European labour law

The Maastricht Treaty's Protocol on Social Policy provides a new framework for participation of labour and management in the formulation and application of labour law at national and Community levels. Following the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, it marks a fundamental change of direction in European labour law     

Regional Bipolarization: The Case of the European Union

This study examines the degree of bipolarization of regional per capita income distribution in the European Union between 1977 and 1999. The results obtained reveal a decrease in regional bipolarization in the European context over the study period as a consequence of various factors working in opposite directions. Likewise, the analysis carried out shows that the national component is the main factor explaining regional bipolarization in the European Union, while the geographical location and the productive structure in 1977 seems to have less relevance. Cette étude s’intéresse au degré de bipolarisation de la répartition régionale des revenus par tête dans l’union européenne entre 1977 et 1999. Les résultats révèlent une réduction de la bipolarisation régionale dans le contexte européen pendant la période couverte, du fait de plusieurs facteurs opérant dans des directions opposées. De même, l’analyse effectuée montre que la composante nationale est le facteur principal d’explication d’une bipolarisation régionale dans l’union européenne, alors que le site géographique et la structure de production en 1977 ont, semble‐t‐il, peu d’importance.     

The currency denomination of external European Union imports after European Union expansion

Using a multiple market model I examine the impact of euro expansion on the optimal currency denomination of external EU imports. Results suggest euro invoicing will increase more in the EU-expansion country than in the original EU. Exporting firms from dollar bloc countries (the U.S. or countries with fixed exchange rates with the dollar) are more likely to invoice in the euro if price discrimination is already optimal. Firms from outside the dollar bloc are more likely to use the euro when the original EU market is relatively large or transaction costs of exchanging the euro are relatively small.     

欧盟标准化政策与欧洲统一大市场 (3)

5指定机构在欧盟合格评定中的作用 指定机构是由各成员国主管当局批准的、依据新方法指令中规定的合格评定程序开展审核工作的机构,它在欧盟的合格评定中起着举足轻重的作用。 5.1 指定机构的职责 指定机构的首要任务就是依据新方法指令中提出的要求,在指定的范围内向共同体内外的经济运作人提供合格评定服务,它们可以在本国、在其它成员国或第三国家的领土上开展合格评定活动。 如上所述,欧盟的合格评定程序被细分为 8种基本模式和 8种基本模式的补充模式。在这些模式中,需要指定机构参与的有 Aa、 B、 Cbis、 D、 E、 F、 G…     

欧盟标准化政策与欧洲统一大市场（1）

欧盟为了加快内部市场的统一,消除贸易技术壁垒,自 20世纪 80年代以来先后出台了许多新政策,其中影响较大的就是由欧盟理事会于 1985年 5月 7日批准的《技术协调与标准化新方法》（简称《新方法》决议）。决议提出了用欧洲标准支持共同体技术法规的思想,即共同体法律只规定产品投放市场所应达到的基本要求,而将制定达到这些基本要求的技术方案的任务交给欧洲标准化组织,明确界定了欧洲立法机构与欧洲标准化组织之间的关系,使欧洲标准成为支持法律、消除贸易技术壁垒的重要工具。 1989年 12月 21日欧盟理事会又通过了《认证和测试全…     

欧盟标准化政策与欧洲统一大市场（2）

2欧盟新方法指令与欧洲标准化的关系 2． 3协调标准　　根据《新方法》决议,由欧洲标准化组织 (欧洲标准化委员会 CEN、欧洲电工标准化委员会 CENELEC及欧洲电信标准学会 ETSI)依据欧盟委员会下达的标准化委托书制订的标准是协调标准;其制订工作必须是在所有利益相关方协商一致的基础上完成。协调标准制订程序如图 1所示。 　　欧洲的协调标准与欧洲其他标准的相同之处是,它们都是自愿性标准。不同之处在于,协调标准是按照指令的要求及规定的程序制订的,凡是符合协调标准的产品均可被视为符合新方法指令的基本要求,从而可在共同…     

欧盟标准化政策与欧洲统一大市场（4）

6 市场监督是欧盟实施新方法指令的重要手段市场监督是各国政府都极为重视的一项活动,旨在利用法律保护消费者的利益。在欧盟,市场监督已成为法律框架中不可分割的一部分,它是欧盟实施新方法指令的重要手段,其目的就是保证投放市场的产品符合新方法指令的基本要求,保护最终用户（消费者）的健康和安全,保证商品在内部市场的自由流通并消灭不公平竞争。新方法指令为各国主管当局开展市场监督活动提供了法律依据以及诸如CE标志、EC合格声明等有效工具。6.1 市场监督所遵循的原则为保证市场监督的公正性,欧盟委员会要求市场监督工作必…     

Secession in the European Union

This paper argues the case for the right of secession in Western democracies. I suggest that the winners gain more than the losers may lose. Indeed, the external effects of secession may well be positive. However, the political economy of secession is highly problematic. Ideally, the rules for secession should be set at the international level but international organisations have a vested interest in preventing secession. It is easier to establish the right of secession at the national level. The opinion of the European Union institutions that Catalonia and Scotland, after seceding, would have to reapply for EU membership has no basis in the European treaties. Nor has this question been settled in any UN agreement or Vienna Convention. There are merely practices, and they vary among international institutions. The paper concludes with suggestions on how secessions from EU member states and withdrawals of member states from the EU might be implemented.     

Fiscal competition and European Union: contrasting perspectives

This paper has two objectives. First, it provides an overview of the vast literature on fiscal competition. A major theme is that the desirability of such competition depends in important ways on one’s view of how the public sector works. This is a complex issue with some intriguing twists. Second, the paper explores the emerging structure of the public sector in the European Union in the presence of growing fiscal competition. From the perspective of traditional fiscal federalism, this structure may be ill-suited to performing two of the traditional tasks of public finance: support for the poor and macroeconomic stabilization.     

发挥工会优势构建和谐企业

当前,企业工会的地位和作用日益突显,它是企业职工的“娘家”,是维护职工权益的“当家人”.因此,企业工会必须不断完善自我,充分发挥自身优势,为企业的稳定和繁荣作贡献     

Complementary pensions in the European Union

In some countries of the European Union (EU) complementary pension schemes represent a major part of pension provision, whereas in others they play a relatively marginal role. An important factor is whether the social security scheme provides earnings-related benefits and whether the ceiling on eligible earnings for social security purposes leaves room for there to be a demand for supplementary pensions arrangements, in particular for the higher paid. Pressures on the financing of social security, especially with the expected ageing of the population in the first 30 years of the next century, are encouraging many countries to develop complementary provision, and a number of new pension laws have been passed in recent years. However, important though the growth of complementary provision is, it should not be forgotten that investment markets are also likely to be affected by the ageing of the population. There are increasing pressures for greater investment freedom for complementary pension schemes, but little progress has been made by the EU in harmonisation of the regulatory regimes for complementary pensions. If mobility of labour between the countries of the EU is to become a reality, progress needs to be made soon on these pensions issues.     

Multi‐level Environmentalism and the European Union: The Case of Trans‐European Transport Networks

In the European Union, trans‐European transport networks (TENs) are a vital element in the constitution of one European space in order to enable the free movement of people and goods throughout the Union. Their construction, however, often causes environmental degradation. Opposition to EU politics is mostly voiced at the level of individual nation‐states. As the case of TENs reveals, however, protest against European policy projects with environmental side effects can take the form of ‘multi‐level environmentalism’, linking lobbying and ‘conscientization’ in Brussels with direct action at the national and local levels. Civil society theory, social movement theory and governance theory help ensure a theoretically informed answer to the question of how the resistance to TENs is organized and framed. By questioning dominant problem definitions and solution strategies, environmental movements and movement organizations, both in Brussels and in the individual nation‐states, point to the possibility of looking at social and political reality from another, non‐hegemonic point of view. In this way, they contribute to challenging the often biased technocratic, growth‐oriented character of the European Union.     

工会组织实践工作之我见

党的十七大报告明确指出＂全心全意依靠工人阶级,完善以职工代表大会为基本形式的企事业单位民主管理制度,推进政务公开,支持职工参与企业管理,维护职工合法权益＂。这一科学论断为加强民主管理,构建和谐社会提供了理论依据,指明了方向。文章结合实际工作,探讨新形势下加强工会组织实际性工作对公路行业发展的实际意义。     

CE标志--产品进入欧盟市场的通行证

欧盟是我国重要的贸易伙伴,进入欧盟市场的多数产品都必须加贴CE标志。《CE标志———产品进入欧盟市场的通行证》全面介绍了CE标志对生产厂商的利与弊,以及获取CE标志的流程与途径。     

The adoption of International Accounting Standards in the European Union

Abstract

This paper discusses the IASB's process of developing accounting standards for adoption by listed companies within the European Union. Issues addressed include the structure of the IASB, its role as a global standard setter and its programme. Particular attention is given to two topics that are both controversial and important, accounting for financial instruments and reporting financial performance.