Networks to Enforce European Law: The Case of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network

Central to this paper is the aim to discuss the effectiveness of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (also known as ??CPC Network??) for consumer protection in cross-border disputes in the European Union (EU). In doing so, this paper deals with the literature about networks established by grouping the Commission and national authorities to enforce European Law. The examples of the European Competition Network and the CPC Network are interesting because they raise questions with regard to the effectiveness and the accountability of emerging network-based law enforcement. The development of the CPC Network may have relevant implications for other areas of EU law and policy, including the question whether network-based governance could be transposed in other fields of EU Law.     

Valuing Mangrove-Fishery Linkages – A Case Study of Campeche, Mexico

This paper explores the value of mangrove systems as a breeding and nursery habitat for off-shore fisheries, focusing on mangrove-shrimp production linkages in Campeche State, Mexico. We develop an open access fishery model to account explicitly for the effect of mangrove area on carrying capacity and thus production. From the long-run equilibrium conditions of the model we are able to establish the key parameters determining the comparative static effects of a change in mangrove area on this equilibrium. We then estimate empirically the effects of changes in mangrove area in the Laguna de Terminos on the production and value of shrimp harvests in Campeche over 1980–90. Our findings suggest that mangroves are an important and essential input into the Campeche shrimp fishery, but that the low levels of deforestation between 1980 and 1990 mean that the resulting losses to the shrimp fishery are still comparatively small. Over-exploitation of the fishery due to open access conditions remains the more pervasive threat, and without better management any long-run benefits of protecting mangrove habitat are likely to be dissipated.     

On the short-maturity behaviour of the implied volatility skew for random strike options and applications to option pricing approximation

In this paper, we propose a general technique to develop first- and second-order closed-form approximation formulas for short-maturity options with random strikes. Our method is based on a change of numeraire and on Malliavin calculus techniques, which allow us to study the corresponding short-maturity implied volatility skew and to obtain simple closed-form approximation formulas depending on the derivative operator. The numerical analysis shows that these formulas are extremely accurate and improve some previous approaches for two-asset and three-asset spread options such as Kirk’s formula or the decomposition method presented in Alòs et al. [Energy Risk, 2011, 9, 52–57]. This methodology is not model-dependent, and it can be applied to the case of random interest rates and volatilities.     

The salient role of institutions in Women’s entrepreneurship: a critical review and agenda for future research

Institutions play an important role in women’s and men’s entrepreneurial behaviors. This article provides a systematic review of institutions and women’s entrepreneurship literature through an institutional lens, with a particular focus on informal and formal institutions. The article sets out to explore institutions for women’s entrepreneurship, illustrating why having an institutional perspective of women’s entrepreneurship contributes to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. To reach this aim, we analyze and classify the scholarship by explanatory factors and type of informal and formal institutions. The article suggests that gender roles, as an informal institution, influence the creation of both informal and formal institutions, and in turn, the women’s entrepreneurial behaviors is based on gender roles. Finally, a theoretical model is developed, which allocates women’s entrepreneurship in the center and shows the role of institutional environment in their decision to start new ventures. Implications for future research are finally discussed.     

Ethical notions and social life: some problems in the measurement of attitudes

In this paper an attempt is made to distinguish three types of ethical orientation. The first one, individually oriented ethics, consists of a set of norms regulating the social behavior of people in which the predominating norms are those which regulate behavior towards other members of small, more or less informal, groups. The second one, socially oriented ethics, does not so much evaluate the personal qualities of the individual nor the various elements of his conduct as a person, but rather the effects caused by the fact that he occupies a definite position in the social structure. Empirical data—based on Polish and American studies—support these distinctions. The third type of ethics, which emerged recently and is based on the concern about population growth, human resources, environment, etc., says that the earth is the only and common home for different social systems. It embraces also the relation of mankind to all other living creatures. This is global ethics.     

Do Open Access Conditions Affect the Valuation of an Externality? Estimating the Welfare Effects of Mangrove-Fishery Linkages in Thailand

Mangroves are considered ecologicallyimportant due to their role as breedinggrounds and nursery habitats for off-shorefisheries. However, mangrove deforestationthrough conversion to shrimp aquaculturethreatens this valuable function. This paperdevelops a dynamic production functionapproach to analyze the influence of habitatchanges on an open access fishery that faces afinite elasticity of demand. The basic modelis applied to a case study of the impacts ofmangrove deforestation on the artisanal marinedemersal and shellfish fisheries in Thailand. By estimating parameters through pooledtime-series and cross-sectional data over the1983–1993 period for the five coastal zones ofSouthern Thailand, the welfare impacts ofmangrove deforestation are estimated underdifferent elasticity of demand assumptions. Under pure open access, the welfare lossesestimated for mangrove deforestation inThailand of 30 km² annually ranged from$12,000 to $408,000 depending on theelasticity of demand.     

Independence of irrelevant alternatives and consistency of choice

Summary. We show that Arrow's condition of independence of irrelevant alternatives is logically related to conditions of consistency of choice (in particular, to Arrow's choice axiom). The relation, however, is indirect. The link is provided by an independence condition due to Hansson (Synthese, 1969) which applies to fixed agenda social choice rules.     

Finance,energy and the decoupling: an empirical study

This paper investigates the empirical and theoretical basis of the decoupling between energy throughput and economic growth, with a critical view of the use of the decoupling concept as a policy priority. We provide an analysis of the historical trends of the metabolic pattern of European economies over a period of 18 years focusing on the changes in energy throughput and financial assets. The results show that energy consumption per hour of labor has remained constant, suggesting that no significant changes in production processes or technology have taken place in the productive sectors of the economy. The contribution of this paper is to establish a bridge between the economic analysis of financialization and the societal metabolism analysis of the economic process from a biophysical point of view. We argue that this bridge is crucial to draw attention to the biophysical consequences of financialization (a relative decoupling) and critically assess the pertinence of policies aimed at encouraging the decoupling in the context of increasing inequality.     

Accountants’ hybridization and juridification: a critical reflection on the fight against organized crime

Policy-makers and regulators are increasingly focusing on fighting organized crime. Preventing criminal organizations infiltrating an economy involves multiple groups of professionals operating in complex regulatory environments. This paper looks at whether the current regulations for the management of assets seized from organized crime are adequate. The focus is on the Italian setting, and the research included interviews with accountants, judges and police officers involved in the management of seized entities. The results have application worldwide.