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201. On Competition in the Banking Sector in Poland and Europe Before and During the Crisis

Author:
Małgorzata Pawłowska
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
In the past decades, the banking sector has come to be known in literature as the banking industry as it was geared to increasing profits, banks were growing, and banking products developed dynamically. It was believed that competition in the banking sector makes banks more efficient and stimulates financial innovation opening new markets. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 has sparked the interest of researchers and politicians in competition in the banking sector and its impact on the stability of the financial sector and overall economic growth. However, researchers cannot agree whether more competition improves or hinders stability. The paper is comprised of three sections and a summary. The first section discusses the concept of competition in the banking sector as well as measures of competition. The second section is a review of literature on competition in the banking sector and its determinants. The third section presents the results of research on competition in the EU, including my own research as well as other research. The paper concludes with a short summary. This publication was presented by Małgorzata Pawłowska during the 134th mBank-CASE Seminar "The global financial crisis: changes in competition in the banking sector in Europe, the role of regulation and intervention by governments and central banks".
Topic:
Financial Crisis, Finance, Economy, Global Financial Crisis, and Banks
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and European Union

202. Alternative Dispute Resolution and Human Rights: Developing a Rights-Based Approach through the ECHR

Author:
Lorna McGregor
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The presumption that courts are the principal forum for dispute resolution continues to be eroded. Alternative forms of dispute resolution (ADR), including agreement-based ADR (such as mediation and conciliation) and adjudicative ADR (such as arbitration), continue to proliferate and are increasingly institutionalized, leading to their characterization as ‘appropriate’ or ‘proportionate’ dispute resolution. Interestingly, despite these developments, the position of international human rights law (IHRL) on two key questions regarding ADR and proportionate dispute resolution (PDR) is unclear. These questions are, first, the standards of justice expected of ADR/PDR (whether entered into voluntarily or mandatorily). Second, the permissible circumstances in which parties to a dispute can be required to use ADR/PDR instead of, or before, accessing courts. The attributes and challenges with ADR/PDR have been discussed extensively in socio-legal studies, feminist literature and the dedicated ADR/PDR literature. This article seeks to bring this vast theory on the diversification and institutionalization of dispute resolution into IHRL. Through the lens of the European Court of Human Rights, this article examines the types of tests that supranational bodies currently employ and advances a framework for assessing the choice, design and implementation of ADR/PDR in the future.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Legal Theory, and Courts
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and European Union

203. International Investment Law and the European Union: Towards a New Generation of International Investment Agreements

Author:
Catharine Titi
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
For about half a century, the European investment treaty model has been associated with European Union (EU) member states’ bilateral investment treaty practice, often referred to as their ‘best practices’. Member state bilateral investment treaties, which are liberal instruments strongly protective of investor interests, have remained relatively unchanged over the years, in contrast with their North American counterparts, which have come to represent a new type of investment treaty, cognizant for the first time of the contracting parties’ right to regulate. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and the exercise of the EU’s new competence over the conclusion of treaties covering foreign direct investment, Europe marks its distances with the old approach of the member states and appears eager to set its own ‘model’. While broadly in harmony with the new generation of North American investment treaties, the nascent EU policy aims to improve international investment law in innovative ways, targeting both substantive and procedural protections, and leading to a yet newer generation of international investment treaties. The present article explores this new EU standard, which is set to change the face of international investment law as we know it.
Topic:
International Law, Treaties and Agreements, Foreign Direct Investment, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and European Union

204. International Investment Law and the European Union: A Reply to Catharine Titi

Author:
Martins Paparinskis
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Reasonable people might disagree whether the European Union (EU) is likely to make a significant and commendable contribution to international investment law. This article addresses two issues of relevance for this discussion. First, it considers the appropriateness of evaluating evelopments in international investment law in terms of balance between investor protection and the right to regulate. Second, the contribution of the recent EU practice is briefly examined, finding it less interesting and innovative than one might have expected.
Topic:
International Law, European Union, Regulation, and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe and European Union

205. Tableau de bord des pays d'Europe centrale et orientale et d'Eurasie 2014 (Volume 1 : Europe centrale et orientale)

Author:
Jean-Pierre Pagé, Jacques Rupnik, Céline Bayou, Edith Lhomel, and Catherine Samary
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Le lecteur ne s’étonnera pas de ce que, en 2014, le conflit en Ukraine soit au cœur des préoccupations des pays d'Europe centrale, orientale et de l'Eurasie, même si ses incidences sont diversement ressenties selon les régions considérées. Les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale sont divisés dans leur appréhension politique des événements, et leurs économies ne sont pas directement concernées par les retombées du conflit en Ukraine. On pouvait craindre en revanche qu’elles subissent l’atonie de la zone euro, et son incapacité à retrouver des taux de croissance stimulant la demande extérieure. Cependant – et c’est là une heureuse surprise –, plusieurs d’entre elles ont trouvé la parade en tirant parti des fonds que l’Union européenne leur destine généreusement pour relancer leur demande domestique. Et les effets positifs de cette tactique portent des fruits spectaculaires, d’autant qu’elle se combine avec les incidences de la faible hausse des prix sur le pouvoir d’achat des consommateurs. Il y a là des enseignements à tirer pour la politique économique de l’Europe Occidentale ! Les pays de l’espace eurasiatique sont eux directement aux prises avec les développements du conflit ukrainien. Les incidences en sont multiples : les sanctions et contre-sanctions entre la Russie et l’Union européenne influent grandement sur les économies périphériques, de grands projets comme le gazoduc South Stream sont annulés, les relations des pays d’Asie centrale et du Caucase avec l’Union européenne sont observées avec vigilance par la Russie… La crise ukrainienne, c’est un fait, porte son ombre sur le grand projet de Vladimir Poutine d’instauration d’une Union économique eurasiatique.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Political Economy, War, Diaspora, Finance, Europeanization, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Moldova, Eastern Europe, Poland, Lithuania, Kosovo, Estonia, Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Hungary, Albania, Croatia, Latvia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Central Europe, Slovenia, Slovakia, and European Union

206. Vers un « multiculturalisme policier » ? La lutte contre la radicalisation en France, aux Pays-Bas et au Royaume-Uni (Towards “Policed Multiculturalism”? Counter-radicalization in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom)

Author:
Francesco Ragazzi
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
The French government recently announced a plan to “combat radicalization” and a series of measures to prevent recourse to violence. Although the term is not entirely new in the French political parlance, it marks a departure from a counterterrorism policy justified mainly by a judicial approach and enforced in great part through administrative measures. France is thus moving closer to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, which both began to develop such policies in the mid-2000s. Yet what exactly does it mean to “combat radicalization”? What explains the French government’s change of approach? And what can be learned from a decade of experience in these two European countries? This study shows that the concept of radicalization serves as an effective discourse to legitimize the extension of police action beyond its usual purview, by becoming involved in areas of diversity management such as education, religion, and social policy. The study traces the dissemination of the discourse through European institutions and, using the notion of “policed multiculturalism,” analyzes the effects of its legal, administrative and preventive forms.
Topic:
Security, Corruption, Crime, Terrorism, Multiculturalism, and Counter-terrorism
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Western Europe, and European Union

207. Future scenarios for the development of the European labour force

Author:
Anna Ruzik-Sierdzińska
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The future size and quality of the European labour force are important production factors for future economic growth in the region. The performance of many systems such as social security and health depends on the population of future potential tax payers. Older workers are an important and increasing share of the employment in Europe. Due to lower fertility and longer life expectancy, today, a larger than ever share of the population is over 50. Eurostat projections show that the share of people between the ages of 50 and 74 in the population aged 20-74 will increase in the EU27 countries from the current 40 per cent to 47 per cent in 2050. However, countries differ in terms of elderly activity. Existing studies show that this is related to various factors, including labour market institutions. As demographic ageing is expected to continue in the future, it is important to know more about these factors in order to recommend policies that could be efficient for the development of future labour markets and the economy as a whole. The aim of the described part of the project was to assess the impact of ageing on the labour market, especially on the structure of the labour force and labour productivity. We looked at this from various angles. First, we examined it via the determinants of the transition from work to retirement (see: Riedel and Hofer, 2013) with a broader analysis of non-labour market activities at older ages (Styczyńska et al., 2013). Then, we tried to answer the question about how individual productivity changes with age in different countries and if lifelong learning can contribute to higher labour productivity in the future (Ruzik-Sierdzińska et al., 2013). Finally, we looked at the demand for labour in the perspective of ageing societies, i.e. at employers' policies, attitudes and behaviours towards older workers and retirement (van Dalen et al., 2013).
Topic:
Demographics, Markets, Labor Issues, Social Policy, Public Policy, and Aging
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and European Union

208. Rocky Road to a Level Playing Field in EU–China Investment and Trade Relations

Author:
Damian Wnukowski and Artur Gradziuk
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
At the beginning of 2014, the European Union and China launched negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty that would launch the next stage in economic relations between them. Although both approach numerous issues differently, they have also strong incentives to seek compromise. Reaching an agreement on investment topics could be a significant step towards creating a favourable environment for cooperation and resolving most contentious sticking points in bilateral relations in the near future. It could also become a template for future similar EU agreements.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, China, and European Union
Political Geography:
China and European Union