The ‘Smee Report’ as a Contribution to The Tobacco Advertising Debate

The UK Department of Health's consultative document on tobacco advertising (informally known as the ‘Smee Report’) occupies a curious position with respect to debates on public policy about advertising. While its conclusions have not been accepted by the UK government, they continue to be used, uncritically, elsewhere in the world as part of the ‘justification’ for bans on tobacco advertising. This article examines the basis of the Smee Report's key conclusions concerning the UK, Canada, Norway, and Finland, and argues that its claims with respect to the effectiveness of advertising bans are untrue.     

Advertising Self-Regulation in a Broader Context

Abstract

As the world braces itself for a unified European marketplace, it is critical that we look at the industries likely to be influenced by, and in turn shape, European integration. The advertising industry and its handling of unification are particularly important given that advertising is the voice of the marketplace and a major communications force, shaping cultural norms and values. In order to ensure the free movement of goods, communications about those goods must also move freely. At this time, however, each European country has its own rules and regulations for advertising. One of the major issues facing European advertising as the European Union (EU) comes together is the regulation of cross-border advertising. In 1991 the European Commission issued a call to action for the European advertising industry and almost immediately the industry began work on a trans-border complaints system. Since then the European Advertising Standards Alliance has worked diligently to iron out issues resulting from international advertising disputes. As this article shows, European regulators must determine how advertising will fit into the larger scheme of European law; who will be responsible for controlling advertising; and whether it should be monitored at the national or pan-European level. Certainly the advertising industry is not the only one struggling to determine which controls can remain at the national level and which should be raised to the European rank. But this analysis of how advertising self-regulation fits into the European legal scheme does provide a useful case study of the hurdles ahead. It will be interesting to watch as Europe works to find the proper balance between free trade and national autonomy to control industries.     

20 Jahre Binnenmarkt

In 1992 the European Single Market was to have been completed. But there is still no truly integrated market in many fields — the EC has to overcome many obstacles yet to make this happen. Based on different EU integration indexes, it is shown that internal market integration has developed since the introduction of the euro. At the same time, the internal market linkages are different from country to country. Internal — but also external - trade and wealth have grown. However, whether there would have been more or less success without the internal market is a question that must be answered. A single market probably does not require a common currency.     

Zielsetzungen und Instrumentarien der europäischen Verbraucherrechtspolitik: Eine Analyse von Entwicklungen im Bereich des Zivilrechts

Objectives and instruments of European consumer policy: An analysis of developments in the area of civil law. The paper discusses the relationships and conflicts between the objectives pursued by European consumer policy and the means which are at its disposal. As a first step, the theoretical assumptions of this policy are analysed by an evaluation of the EC Programme for a Consumer Protection and Information Policy of 1975 and of the draft directives on product liability, on misleading and unfair competition, on doorstep sales, and on correspondence courses. It is suggested that the European approach toward consumer protection largely corresponds to the policies prevailing at the national level: Consumer protection is seen as a supplement to the traditional market and competition policy which used to be restricted to regulating competition between producers or suppliers of goods and services, whereas the new policy focuses on the relations between producers and consumers. Nevertheless, consumer policy adheres to the basic presumptions of market economy. It presupposes that the demands of the consumer have to be articulated and satisfied via market processes. It therefore primarily relies on regulations directed against misleading advertising, on protecting justified expectations as to the quality of goods or services by providing redress for losses sustained, and by endeavours aimed at securing a more rational behaviour of the individual consumer. The most important means to promote this policy on the European level are the directives which aim at consonance among national laws (Art. 100 EC Treaty). This is indicative of a market orientation of consumer policy in so far as the harmonization of law is seen as a device for overcoming discriminating effects or distortions of competition created by the differences among national laws thereby furthering a better functioning of the Common Market (Art. 3 h EC Treaty). This accordance of consumer policy and harmonization policy does not rest on firm ground, however. In consumer policy it becomes more and more obvious that the efforts to protect the interests of the consumer lead to further interventionist activities. This process also reveals the need for systematic adjustments or consultations between consumer policy and other fields of politics. A harmonization policy which is primarily centered on breaking down trade barriers and on overcoming discriminating effects of competition cannot respond to the needs and problems of such interventionist activities. Therefore, the harmonization of consumer law should be conceived as a process of formulating broader policies directed at a congruous development of the economic sphere and at an improvement of the living conditions in the Common Market (cf. Art. 2 and the preamble of the EC Treaty). Legal techniques which might be adopted to support such an orientation are (a) in the EC directives to lay down minimum standards for the national legislation, (b) to use a conflict-of-laws approach which would allow to respect and try to coordinate legitimate interests in the application of national consumer policies, and (c) the development of special rules responding to the international aspects of the exchange between producers and consumers. At present, however, European policy gives hardly any attention to the chances and problems of such an approach requiring a complicated coordination of the various legal techniques.     

EC Law, the Environment and Consumers: Addressing the Challenge of Incorporating an Environmental Dimension to Consumer Protection at Community Level

The principal objective of this paper is to stimulate debate about the current state of the relationship and tensions between consumer and environmental protection policies at Community level. By virtue of the constitutional changes to Community Law introduced by the Single European Act 1986 (SEA) and the Treaty on European Union 1992 (TEU), the European Community (EC) has committed itself to re-evaluating its core, fundamental aim of attaining completion of market integration. The EC is now compelled to address whether the development of open and free market conditions ultimately serves the best interests and priorities of its inhabitants and whether its original goals adequately internalise their environmental concerns and demands. This paper aims to assess critically to what extent EC policy and law have responded to these new challenges and requirements by focusing, firstly, on the caselaw of the European Court of Justice and, secondly, on policy innovations introduced by and constraints facing the EC legislative institutions. Ten years on from the SEA, it appears that the Community has barely started to confront the issue of the consumer-environment interrelationship, with the result that political and legal developments have been unclear and often contradictory. The Community must begin to match its rhetoric with definitive action.     

International Strategic Alliances

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an empirical investigation of strategic alliance agreements between UK firms and their European, Japanese and US partners. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the international strategic alliance activity of UK firms and ascertain the objectives and motives of international strategic alliances. In addition, the perceived performance of the strategic alliance is considered together with the perceived level of satisfaction of a range of alliance activities. The findings should prove to be a useful guideline for researchers and practitioners engaged in understanding international strategic alliances. The analysis should allow managers to examine the important issues in the formation of international strategic alliances and allow them to understand the assessment of performance and satisfaction of the alliances formed.

Key Results: The findings have shown a definite pattern in UK international strategic alliance activity. The results of the study indicate that the majority of UK firms engage in international partnerships for marketing-related activities and are essentially driven by the financial cost and risk of entering a foreign market; access to overseas market and improving market share. The findings have also indicated that the majority of UK managers are satisfied with the overall performance of the international strategic alliance.     

Clearing von außerbörslichen Euro-Derivaten

Based on experiences from the financial crisis, it was decided at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in 2009 that OTC derivatives transactions should be predominantly cleared through central counterparties (CCP). CCPs contribute to a reduction of systemic risk. The global clearing volume of OTC interest rate, equity and currency derivatives is approximately USD 400 trillion per year. In light of the upcoming Brexit, the question arises as to whether or not the clearing of euro denominated OTC derivatives, currently performed primarily by the London based clearing house LCH Clearnet, should remain in the UK due to economies of scale available to LCH Clearnet as the current European market leader. On the other hand, CCPs are of increasing importance for financial stability in the eurozone, particularly because of potential spillover effects on monetary policy if a systemically important CCP experiences financial distress. Hence, a relocation of euro OTC derivatives clearing from the UK to the EU would ensure direct supervision by European authorities. Opponents of a relocation are concerned about decreasing market liquidity and capital efficiency alongside higher transaction costs due to market fragmentation. The analysis presented in this paper shows that the existing relocation cost estimates of up to USD 100 billion are far too high; realistically, they can be expected to amount to just USD 3.2 billion over a period of five years.     

Increasing protectionism in Europe

The EC-Commission and the European Council have both expressed their concern at the state of the internal market of the Community, which is jeopardized by trade barriers and subsidies to distressed industries. They both agree that a concerted effort must be made to strengthen and consolidate the internal market for goods and services.^1,2 Has the bacillus of increasing protectionism in world trade now spread to the internal trade in the EC? How can the danger be averted?     

WTO dispute settlement proceedings: European support for airbus in the spotlight

The bilateral WTO Agreement on Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (TLCA) of 1992 regulated the permitted levels of support for the European and American aviation industries. In October 2004, the US unilaterally withdrew from the TLCA, right as Boeing was about to lose its market leader status. Together with the termination of the TLCA, the US requested the initiation of WTO dispute settlement proceedings against the EU as well as against the governments of Germany, France, the UK and Spain regarding alleged direct and indirect subsidisation of Airbus. In response, the EC requested, on that same day, the initiation of dispute settlement proceedings regarding certain US federal, state and local subsidies granted to the American aircraft producer Boeing, which the EC regarded as incompatible with WTO rules. What European subsidies exist for Airbus, and how extensive are they?     

The Economic Psychology of Stock Market Bubbles in China

The Chinese stock markets were extremely volatile during the period 2005–08. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Composite Index increased more than sixfold from 1,012 in 2005 to 6,124 by the end of 2007. It then declined continuously to reach a low of 1,929 on 17 September 2008, or a drop of 70 per cent from its peak in less than 10 months. Although the market downturn may have been affected by the financial crisis in the United States and the rest of the world, the extreme fluctuations of stock prices signify a big market bubble, and the burst of that bubble must be explained by intrinsic characteristics or the economic psychology of Chinese investors. Based on a detailed market data analysis, this paper attributes the development of the stock market bubble to three key psychological factors: ‘greed’, ‘envy’ and ‘speculation’, and the burst of the bubble to three contrasting factors: ‘fear’, ‘lack of confidence’ and ‘disappointment’. It concludes that only after Chinese companies become really commercialised and profitable and investors become rational can the stock markets become stable without extreme volatility as seen in the past. Government policies can play a role in soothing market volatility detrimental to shareholders and the wider economy, but investors should not depend on government for making their own investment decisions.     

论我国保险中介市场的完善

我国的保险中介形成于20世纪90年代,随着保险产业化的进程的加快,保险中介机构在数量上已较为可观,业务规模和市场份额迅速增长,经营水平不断提高。但是在保险中介市场的发展过程中也存在这一些问题,如专业中介机构规模小、业务种类不丰富、专业人才缺失、对兼业代理人监管不到位等。我国保险中介市场的完善,应当根据我国的具体保险市场环境,吸收借鉴国外同业的先进之处,选择符合我国国情的正确发展道路和模式,具体措施是加强对保险中介业务的部门监管,培育良好保险中介市场环境,加大保险中介企业的信息披露力度,提高保险中介机构专业化水平和从业人员素质,加强保险中介行业自律,以此来促进保险中介市场的健康、有序发展。     

Defending the Consumer's Right to a Clean Environment in the Face of Globalisation. The Case of Extraterritorial Environmental Protection Under European Community Law

The issue of extraterritorial eco-protection provides an excellent illustration of unresolved tensions deep-rooted within Community policy and law as regards protecting the environment and the consumer. On the one hand, the EC has predicated itself traditionally on the free market model of consumer welfare, which perceives social progress to be indissolubly linked with open markets characterised by free competitive forces, exemplified by the "single market" ideal. Extraterritorial protective measures represent a considerable challenge to this orthodoxy. They not only question the notion that frictionless interstate trade should be the ultimate trump card, but also dispute the notion that a private individual should only have influence or ownership over concerns about the environment directly related to that person's "home" or "domestic" territory, such as the state of nationality or residence.Extraterritorial measures imply a post-national vision of politics, a vision which the EC in its current form does not share. However, by virtue of the major changes made to the Treaty of Rome 1957 (EC Treaty) due to the Single European Act 1986 (SEA), the Treaty on European Union 1992 (TEU), and most recently the Treaty of Amsterdam 1997 (ToA), the EC has committed itself to incorporating a strong environmental protection dimension to its traditional core aims related to market integration. These new commitments lend support to ideas and policies enhancing the status of measures designed to prioritise ecological values, including potentially extraterritorial measures on environmental protection.     

The Strategic Implications of EMU for European Banking

This paper reviews the broad impact of the European SMP (Single Market Programme) and approach of EMU (European Monetary Union) on European bank strategies.

Select but key aspects of the competitive strategies that banks might pursue in this ‘New Europe’ are then considered. Within this review; the key strategic question is explored whether banks necessarily have to be bigger in order to be more efficient and even ultimately to survive in a post-EMU world. It is argued thut efficiency considerations should dominnte over size per se. The strategic perspective that will be developed is to

view EMU as the next stage on from the present SMF! This perspective avoids the mistake of visuulising any kind of EMU as likely to precipitate dramatic ‘breaks’ in the present

strategic development of European banking. Since the SMP is well advanced, we already have some experience of the

strategic reactions of banks towards a single European banking market; this provides a useful indicator of at least some of the broader bank strategic reactions that might be expected to EMU.     

Measuring something real and useful in consumer involvement in health and social care research

Actively involving service users, patients and carers in the creation and development of health research in the UK has recently come under pressure to articulate why involvement is a good use of resources. This has led to a growing interest in creating ways to measure the impact of involving patients, service users and carers in research. However, there is a concern that fundamentally important issues about why we should meaningfully involve service users, patients and carers are missing from the current measurement discourses and activities undertaken in relation to measurement. This paper argues three distinct points, and is based on the experience of the authors working with Folk.us as well as other fields of involvement. Firstly, there should be an open and honest debate about what is meant by the need to measure and assess the effects of involving people in research, addressing issues such as who benefits from the measurement and assessment and why the involvement is being done. Secondly, if at the conclusion of the debate it is deemed necessary to measure and assess, there must be a full and frank discussion about what criteria are appropriate for the proper reporting of involvement activities. This discussion would need to include the less obvious activities that are crucial to active involvement, such as administrative tasks, and where such activities would sit within these criteria. Thirdly, we will consider when such criteria should be applied, at the beginning or end of projects and, indeed, whether one can categorize the ‘beginning’ or ‘end’ of involvement.     

Some consequences of the single market for European and Danish consumer policy

In this paper, the future of consumer policy within the context of the European single market will be estimated. As the scope of the EC for consumer action is mainly economic, a broader social approach will be used as the theoretical framework. Within such an approach, consumer problems and consumer policy will be characterized, and three paradigms describing the social and political influence of consumers will be discussed as possible guidelines for consumer action. In the light of these guidelines and available published knowledge of the single market, consumer policy at Community level and in Denmark will be analysed.     

The Regulation of Retail Investment Services in the EU: Towards the Improvement of Investor Rights?

Despite the fact that a substantial body of European Community (EC) law already exists to protect retail investors, the markets in retail investment services and products in the EU remain fragmented. Moreover, the recent financial crisis has undermined investor confidence in financial markets more generally, and “packaged” retail investment products (PRIP), such as investment funds or life insurance policies, in particular. To rebuild retail investor confidence in PRIP by empowering retail investors to make active use of their rights, in 2009 the European Commission proposed to extend the provisions of the 2004 Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) to PRIP. Is the MiFID, however, fit for the purpose which the Commission has in mind? This contribution explores to what extent the MiFID actually confers rights on retail investors and empowers them to make use of these rights. The author concludes that investor rights and remedies should be taken more seriously when making European financial services law. The current overhaul of the EC legal framework for the provision of investment services provides a good opportunity to do so.     

The Impact of the Recession on Competition Policy: Amending the Economic Constitution?

The strengths of the European competition regime are outlined before identifying challenges presented by the financial crisis. The argument moves from enforcement to systemic threats to the credibility of the economic models on which modern competition policy is based. It then turns from banking failures to the crisis in the European motor industry. It suggests that competition policy comprises an ‘economic constitution’ for the EU which is under threat, but registers the relative complacency of the competition agencies, and argues for a redefinition of policy. The conclusion suggests that the regulatory relationship between the state and the private sector will reflect scepticism about the market and that political changes in the UK and Europe offer radical choices between a reinforced or a marginalised competition policy which the competition policy ‘community’ needs to confront.     

Higher Level Skills Training: Meeting the Needs of Small Businesses

In order for businesses to remain competitive it is suggested that across industry there is a requirement for ‘higher and broader’ skills. Universities have an important role to play in satisfying the need for higher level skills training for businesses of all sizes. With respect to small firms, the training and development provided by universities has traditionally been founded upon an educational/large firm model. In order to make significant in-roads into the small firm training market it is argued that universities need to attend more closely to the specific needs of client organisations. One way in which the small firm higher level skills training market can be segmented is in terms of sector. The present study examines the higher level skills training needs of a sample of UK small firms from the perspective of sectoral variations. Differences between firms occupying different sectors were observed in terms of funding of training, responsibility for training and types of higher level skills training undertaken. Attitudes towards universities as training providers were generally favourable with little inter-sectoral variation. It is argued that these findings need to be taken into account if universities are to address the real, as opposed to perceived or presumed, needs of small businesses. A systematic-collaborative model of the customer-supplier relationship for the small firm training market is put forward.     

It's not what you know but who you know that's important: the influence of social networks on communities

Since its conception in 1945, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has been the focus of extensive political rhetoric regarding the involvement of patients and the public in the provision of health‐care services both locally and nationally. However, achieving substantial user involvement within local communities has proven to be a complex task. The exploratory research presented in this paper investigates the influence of social networks within local communities and its relevance for user involvement. Four main findings emerged: interviewees have strong informal social networks; there is a strong sense of generalized reciprocity; diversity is limited within the social groupings; and there exists a lack of trust in governmental institutions. With regards to health issues, there is an overriding feeling that ‘things like that should be left to the people who know’. If user involvement is to be achieved at the level envisioned by the UK government, achieving a greater relevance for users is essential.     

Trademark Law and Litigation in China

This article deals with trade relations between the EC and Japan by focusing on the automobile industry. It analyzes the performance of the European and Japanese car manufacturers in the EC market. It examines quantitative import restrictions as well as non-tariff restrictions such as technical regulations, the value-added system, state aid to European car producers, exclusive distribution system, and "rule of origin" requirements. The article also discusses how the Japanese car producers are reacting to the EC-92 program by pursuing at least three strategies.