简析WTO协定下贸易权的绝对性与相对性

为应对由全球经济衰退带来的国内经济社会问题,某些成员常把WTO协定下的贸易权作为其调整和推进对外贸易的政策工具和法律盾牌,致使WTO成员间由来已久的贸易权纠纷雪上加霜。对WTO协定下的贸易权进行性质定位,并据此分析其绝对性和相对性,有助于明晰成员享有贸易权的限度和范围,有助于理解程序性质的贸易权和实体性质的贸易权,由此期望为解决成员间的贸易权争端提供新思路或新方法。     

浅析国际商事仲裁一裁终局制度的局限与完善

视一裁终局为国际商事仲裁的主要优点并将其绝对化,是我国学术界的普遍观念,而《仲裁法》也规定仲裁实行一裁终局的制度。然而,随着国际经济交往规模的扩大,一裁终局在国际商事仲裁实践中的缺陷逐一显现。本文通过分析,提出对"一裁终局"绝对存在性和绝对优越性的质疑,指出一裁终局的缺陷,进而提出在一裁终局制度上,我国仲裁法应当区分国内仲裁与国际商事仲裁,在国际商事仲裁中摈弃绝对的一裁终局制度。     

论“非世贸组织协定”的不可适用性——兼评“并入说”理论

对于“非世贸组织协定”是否可以像“世贸组织涵盖协定”一样作为世贸组织争端解决机制的适用法律,“并入说”学者持肯定的态度。然而,无论是《争端解决机制谅解》还是争端解决机制的司法实践,“并入说”的观点都是值得商榷的。“并入说”理论的不足在于其混淆了世贸组织争端解决机制与国际法院的法律属性。世贸组织法很大程度上属于自足性的法律体系。     

我国企业对社会责任信息披露的认识和实践

文章采用问卷调查的方法分析我国企业对社会责任信息披露的认识和实践,发现目前社会责任信息披露作为一种理念已经获得企业高度认同,但实践方面却远远落后。企业对于社会责任信息披露的经济后果认识较为一致,但是对披露方式和披露内容态度很不一致。据此,提出了改善我国企业社会责任信息披露的建议。     

Sustainable development carbon pricing initiative and voluntary environmental disclosures quality

Although corporate environmental disclosures have been researched extensively, empirical evidence regarding the indirect impact of carbon pricing on firms' voluntary disclosures is scarce. The objective of this study is to identify the indirect impact of carbon pricing initiatives on the voluntary environmental disclosures (VEDs) of electricity generating companies, analyzed through the lens of institutional theory. This study adds to the growing literature on the determinants of VED, investigating the impact of adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative and ISO 14001 on VED. Secondary data were collected from 2015 annual reports and/or standalone sustainability reports of electricity generating companies from 53 countries around the world. Content analysis approach was adopted for measuring the extent of the quality of VED. Findings of multiple regression analysis suggest that there is an indirect institutional impact of carbon pricing on the quality of VED. This study also finds that, as the form of nongovernment guidance, the Global Reporting Initiative adoption and ISO 14001 certification also have an institutional influence on the VED. VED is also affected by company size although this study reveals no significant relationship of leverage with VED.     

What have we learnt about board gender diversity as a business strategy? The appointment of board subcommittees

This paper explores whether a board's gender diversity influences the voluntary formation of its board subcommittees. Female board directorship may become a business strategy for firms if it affects the appointment of board subcommittees. We hypothesize that the voluntary creation of board subcommittees is affected by the presence of female directors on boards; the presence of independent, executive, and institutional female directors; and the proportion of shares held by female directors on boards. Board gender diversity has been measured as a proportion and with Blau's index. The results show that independent female directors are positively associated with the likelihood of voluntarily setting up all or some of the committees and a supervision and control committee. The presence of executive female directors negatively influences the probability of forming all or some of the committees, an executive committee and a supervision and control committee. The percentage of shares held by female directors has a positive effect on the voluntary creation of an executive committee. The findings also report that women directors and institutional female directors do not contribute to the voluntary creation of board subcommittees. Our evidence shows that female board directorship impacts the demand of internal control mechanisms such as board subcommittees, suggesting that firms should take it into account as a business strategy. The main implications derived from this research are relevant for Spanish policymakers and researchers because board gender diversity may play a significant role in the decision‐making processes of firms and may influence firms' outcomes.     

What has New Zealand gained from The FTA with China?: Two counterfactual analyses†

We investigate the effects of the 2008 New Zealand (NZ)–China free trade agreement (FTA) on exports from NZ to China, and real GDP per capita in NZ using the synthetic control method to estimate the counterfactuals. NZ exports to China were more than 200% higher in 2014 than what they would have had the FTA never been signed. NZ's food and live animals exports to China were more than 180% higher in 2014 than the counterfactual. Our counterfactuals indicate a small but negative effect of the FTA on NZ's real GDP per capita between 2009 and 2012.     

The development trinity: How regional integration impacts growth,inequality and poverty

Developing countries today have become more active participants in regional trade agreements. This raises questions about how the benefits of integration are distributed, and the extent to which lower‐income countries are able to capture development gains. Historically, such impacts have been difficult to identify with precision. This paper seeks to address this gap by empirically analysing the impact of regional integration on development, particularly the effects on growth and welfare. Using both bilateral and regional integration measures, we show that the ability to capture gains from integration varies across developing country regional groups, with developing Asia benefiting on par with developed countries. The findings in the paper indicate that trade and trade policy play an important role in reducing inequality and poverty in developing countries. It also shows that regionalism can function as a channel to make multilateralism a more adept way of addressing national challenges.     

Financial materiality in the informativeness of sustainability reporting

This study examines whether financial materiality in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure benefits the stock market by increasing the amount of accessible and relevant firm-specific information. Based on the value relevance of information and the principle of financial materiality, we demonstrate that disclosing material ESG information increases stock price informativeness. We conduct an automated content analysis of 150,000 electronic documents filed by firms listed on the S&P/TSX Composite Index from 1999 to the end of 2014. Our findings show that ESG disclosure is indeed value relevant for investors and that financial materiality in ESG disclosure leads to more informative stock prices. In addition, the effect of ESG disclosure on stock price informativeness differs across the ESG components, being more sensitive to the social component. This study contributes to the literature on sustainability reporting, and in particular to the ongoing discussion about whether the financial materiality of ESG issues matters. This study also deepens the understanding of agency theory predictions about the economic effects of ESG disclosure.