Compensation Payments Research Articles

Can today’s and tomorrow’s world uniformly gain from carbon taxation?

Climate change will impact current and future generations in different regions very differently. This paper develops the first large-scale, annually calibrated, multi-region, overlapping generations model of climate change and carbon policy. It features region-specific temperature and damage functions with the phased impact of emissions on global and regional temperature calibrated to the latest scientific evidence. Absent policy, climate change may, under high-damage scenarios, dramatically reduce GDP in most regions, with India, Brazil, and the South Asian Pacific suffering long-term catastrophic damages. Carbon taxation, coupled with region- and generation-specific transfers, can both correct the carbon externality and raise the welfare of all current and future agents across all regions by 4.3 percent. The impact on the use and duration of fossil fuels is dramatic as is the reduction in the path of global emissions. However, achieving completely uniform welfare gains leaves future generations in particular regions facing exceptionally high compensatory payments. Fortunately, a carbon tax-cum redistribution policy that limits this burden for any generation in any region to less than 10 percent, measured on a consumption-equivalent basis, can deliver a 4.0 percent or higher welfare gain for all peoplekind — present and future. However, carbon taxes set through time, at carbon’s marginal social cost, do far too little to mitigate climate change unless all major emitters, particularly China, adopt them and do so immediately.

Fair overtime pay: the need and rationale for changes

Amendments to the overtime payment regulations provided for by the Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 152 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation” dated 04/22/2024 No. 91-FZ, effective September 1, 2024, were considered. The analysis of the need for such amendments, which were initiated by law enforcement practice, drew attention to the absence of appropriate conditions in the Labor Code, which allowed the employer to consider only the salary (official salary) of such an employee when calculating remuneration for overtime work. This circumstance infringed on the rights of employees to fair wages for overtime work. The amendments that require consideration of compensation and incentive payments, and not only the basic part of wages when paying overtime, are considered.

Sand mining deteriorates soil fertility and farming livelihoods around Accra, Ghana

Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa requires vast quantities of sand to meet infrastructural demands. In Accra, Ghana, sand mining occurs predominantly on farmlands at the city’s periphery. We selected three study communities to assess the effects of sand mining on agriculture using interviews with local farmers and soil analyses of mined and unmined fields. The results underscore the profound repercussions of sand mining on farmers, characterized by substantial agricultural land loss, the destruction of food crops, and the absence of compensation payments or land reclamation. The study further reveals a significant decline in soil fertility of mined fields compared to unmined fields as evidenced by reduced levels of carbon (C, by 6.3 g kg-1) and macronutrients (nitrogen (N, by 0.6 g kg-1), phosphorus (P, 12.7 mg kg-1), potassium (K, 77 mg kg-1) and magnesium (Mg, 88 mg kg-1)), and an increase in soil compaction (bulk density by 0.13 g cm-3 and penetration resistance by 0.11 MPa). Soil texture and pH were altered and sodium (Na, by 16 mg kg-1) and soil moisture (by 4%) increased. On a communal level, sand mining adversely affected water availability, road infrastructure, and the health of residents. The study fills research gaps on the effects of sand mining on agricultural productivity, soil fertility and livelihoods, emphasizing the urgent need for effective regulation, law enforcement and collaboration as well as compensation and land reclamation mechanisms to limit the adverse impacts of sand mining on ecosystem services. Further, the use of more sustainable building materials should be fostered to reduce the demand for sand in Ghana.

The Essence of Paying Compensation To Victims of Fair-Based Fraud According To John Rawls

This article aims to discuss and analyze the nature of justice-based compensation payments to victims of fraud, the problem approaches used are a conceptual approach, a statutory approach, a comparative approach, a case approach and finally a philosophical approach. This research uses normative research by studying and understanding law as norms or positive legal rules. Sources of legal materials are obtained from legislation, literature books, theory and legal journals. Where later it will be used to find out what the essence of compensation payments should be that provides justice for victims of criminal acts of fraud to obtain their rights, namely through the reconstruction of regulations by adding sanctions in the form of criminal compensation for losses experienced as a result of the criminal act, due to criminal witnesses who were present. This applies only to giving prison sentences without paying attention to the victims.

Investment treaty reforms to prevent developing country regulatory chill from causing global warming

Developing countries have more than 1300 investment treaties with developed countries. Investment treaties are often alleged to constrain developing countries' climate policies. This paper examines four treaty reforms that are often suggested as remedies to such regulatory chill. It considers an investment treaty that protects a stranded developed country investment in a developing country. The reforms are compared with regard to whether they can induce the developing country to regulate the investment, and their political attractiveness. The reforms are shown to have features that seem to have gone unnoticed in the debate. Exclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) may be ineffective due to a hold-up problem, and if effective requires unlawful regulation by the host country. A shortening of a sunset period applicable to unilateral withdrawal can postpone regulation. A reduction in the amount of stipulated compensation can induce the developing country to phase out the stranded investment, but will require a compensation payment from the developing country to the developed country investor. The reform with best potential to address stranded investment problems appears to be an increase in a carve-out from the compensation requirement for measures with sufficiently positive climate effect.

Social impacts arising from road infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: better management of social issues is needed in road construction, upgrading and rehabilitation

ABSTRACT Despite the use of environmental and social impact assessments for road projects, severe social impacts continue to occur. We discuss the social impacts associated with the construction, upgrading, widening and/or rehabilitation of roads in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to a literature review, we analysed 10 road projects in Uganda by examining project planning documents, and undertaking in-depth interviews, group interviews and field visits. While there were some benefits from these road projects, especially dust reduction where roads became sealed, the significant land acquisition necessary for these linear projects has led to physical displacement, economic displacement, and disruption to the livelihoods of local people. Other issues included: inadequate community engagement; delayed payment of compensation and inadequate compensation; gender-based violence; poor road construction practice causing community safety concerns; project-induced in-migration or influx; sexual harassment; impacts on children; and issues around sex work. The lack of local community acceptance (social licence to operate) of the projects resulted in construction delays and increased costs. For more acceptable road projects, better community engagement, improved planning and management, and adequate funding for resettlement and compensation are essential.

Innovation in Compensation Payments

The growing economic influence of cryptocurrency and the development of the associated infrastructure has brought about an interest in the new areas of its application. Payment of compensation in cryptocurrency is one such evolving application of cryptocurrency. Using a qualitative research design, we attempt to identify the factors and ecosystem constituents that play an important role in the diffusion, adoption and use of cryptocurrency as a compensation medium. A hybrid methodology involving both inductive and deductive methods of qualitative inquiry was used to develop the themes. The study identified nine main factors that influenced a participant’s decision to accept compensation in cryptocurrency. They are: (1) the prospects of high return; (2) ease of transaction; (3) faster international transactions; (4) price volatility of cryptocurrencies; (5) threat of hacking; (6) taxation policies of the country; (7) lack of recognition as legal tender; (8) influence of peer groups; and (9) influence of celebrities. The inductive part of the study enabled the mapping of the major stakeholders involved in the decision, namely, the government, the employer, the peer groups of the employee, celebrities and the cryptocurrency-issuing company.

Coffee culture: Gen Z and coffee shops

The provision of restitution to victims of criminal acts is considered not optimal in its implementation with various problems such as from the regulatory aspect and at the level of implementing relevant stakeholders in the implementation of prosecutions. The results of this study will be presented by describing the data obtained through literature studies analyzed by quantitative methods. The study shows that there is a need for an arrangement that contains a substitute crime if the defendant or convicted person is not able to pay a replacement crime as a norm that becomes the legal basis for public prosecutors and judges in prosecuting and deciding cases. The problem arises due to the lack of comprehensive regulations regarding criminal charges in lieu of the payment of compensation, the non-regulation of criminal substitutes for the payment, and the nonregulation of the amount of the criminal substitute. The ideal arrangement in a criminal prosecution that is carried out comprehensively and correctly by the relevant parties is expected to provide legal certainty, justice, and expediency.

Additional Criminal Restitution In The Handling Of General Criminal Cases By The Prosecutor's Office

The provision of restitution to victims of criminal acts is considered not optimal in its implementation with various problems such as from the regulatory aspect and at the level of implementing relevant stakeholders in the implementation of prosecutions. The results of this study will be presented by describing the data obtained through literature studies analyzed by quantitative methods. The study shows that there is a need for an arrangement that contains a substitute crime if the defendant or convicted person is not able to pay a replacement crime as a norm that becomes the legal basis for public prosecutors and judges in prosecuting and deciding cases. The problem arises due to the lack of comprehensive regulations regarding criminal charges in lieu of the payment of compensation, the non-regulation of criminal substitutes for the payment, and the nonregulation of the amount of the criminal substitute. The ideal arrangement in a criminal prosecution that is carried out comprehensively and correctly by the relevant parties is expected to provide legal certainty, justice, and expediency.

Habitat niches of bird species along a recovery gradient in the Chocó tropical forest

Conservation programs need improved tools to measure the recovery of animal diversity across restoration gradients. We used soundscapes and expert identifications of bird species to calculate niche position (i.e., mean of environmental conditions across all areas a species occupies) and niche breadth (i.e., the standard deviation of the species distribution) along a recovery gradient; from agriculture to early (up to 20 yrs) and late (up to 38 yrs) recovery, to old-growth forests. Our survey included 323 bird species and was conducted in 66 plots in the lowland Chocoan tropical rainforest in Ecuador where less than 11% of the forest remains intact, and large areas are currently undergoing regeneration post-abandonment. First, we validated our niche metrics by contrasting them against independent global categories of forest density dependency. We then explained the niche metrics of the bird species with different ecological traits, gathered from the literature, reflecting species-specific primary diet, morphology and distribution, and accounting for the phylogenetic relatedness of species. Finally, we explored the phylogenetic signal present in bird species’ ecological traits and recovery niche metrics. Niche position and breadth across the recovery gradient closely followed global categories of forest density dependency. However, our approach provided a more fine-scaled sorting of bird species in forest plots categorized as late recovery and old-growth. Granivorous birds occupied niche positions in active cacao and pasture plots and were replaced by frugivorous birds in older regeneration plots. Along the recovery gradient, tail length and handwing index decreased with niche position, supporting previous observations that birds in old-growth forests are less mobile. Birds in old-growth forests had smaller global distribution ranges than birds in agricultural plots. Finally, the latitudinal distribution of birds in the study area averaged south of the equator, with birds in old-growth plots averaging latitudinal centroids in wet forests north of the equator, whereas birds in agriculture plots averaged latitudinal centroids further south of the country, towards the dry and open Tumbesian forest. Frugivores, invertivores and vertivores had broader niche breadths, but these decreased (marginally) with tail length. We suggest these recovery niche metrics as a potentially powerful tool for the rapid assessment of the recovery process, which might support conservation strategies such as biodiversity credits, compensation payments, and strategic land purchases. With the increasing availability of information-intensive models for bird species identification, such as deep learning artificial intelligence, our new niche metrics open the avenue for rapid assessment of tropical biodiversity and new conservation areas at larger scales.

Legal and social protection of Ukrainians military servicemen during the action of the martial state

Introduction. In the conditions of military realities in which our state is now, the issue of legal and social security of military personnel requires special attention. Considering their personal contribution and heroism in restoring the sovereignty of our state. This study was conducted precisely in the context of the assessment of state support for military personnel, which consists in providing decent social guarantees. The purpose of this paper is to study the peculiarities of legal and social protection of military personnel, in terms of individual components, as well as the analysis of normative legal acts of the state, which regulate the issue of social security of military personnel. Results. The paper carries out a general analysis of the state of social protection of military personnel and its regulatory and legal support. A separate assessment of the Law of Ukraine "On social and legal protection of military personnel and their family members" is given and it is established that this law determines the general vector of social protection of military personnel. It has been proven that modern rehabilitation programs include not only medical and physical rehabilitation, but also psychological rehabilitation. Separate compensatory payments, which are provided for by current legal documents, have been studied. A separate evaluation of the reasons for the appointment of one-time cash assistance is given. Conclusion. From the conducted research, it can be seen that the legislation of Ukraine regarding the social protection of military personnel is being improved and adapted to real needs with the beginning of a full-scale invasion. The state not only provides material support for servicemen, but also takes into account the mental needs of servicemen, which are reflected in the necessary psychological support. Social guarantees in the form of compensation payments are also an important part of social security for both servicemen and their family members in the event of the hero’s death.

Measuring people’s attitude towards conservation of Leopard Panthera pardus (Mammalia: Carnivora) in the foothills of Himalayan region

Measuring people’s attitudes about the large carnivores involved in human-wildlife interface, also termed conflict or interaction, is an essential aspect of developing effective conservation and management planning for human-carnivore coexistence. Human-leopard (Panthera pardus) interaction is widespread and one of the most pressing conservation issues within the global range of leopards. However, there is a scarcity of information on local people’s opinions and attitudes concerning carnivores in human-dominated areas. Our current study focused on understanding the human dimensions of human-leopard interactions in the multi-purpose landscape situated in the foothills of Shiwalik Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Between January and May 2022, we conducted a semi-structured questionnaire survey (N = 266) to understand how socio-demographic factors impact the attitudes of local people toward leopard conservation in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand, India. Overall, 61.7% of respondents had positive attitudes toward leopards and supported leopard conservation, primarily attributed to the aesthetic value of leopards. Using ordinal logistic regression models, we found that male respondents and individuals with higher education had a positive attitude towards leopard conservation. The majority of respondents who conveyed positive attitudes towards leopard conservation belonged to the more educated socio-demographic groups. As a follow-up, specific studies need to be conducted on local people’s attitude about compensation or compassionate payments, often disbursed as compassionate payments, the response of the forest department to prevailing conflict, and current awareness programs. These can be crucial factors towards shaping the attitude of local respondents and promote human-leopard coexistence.

Energy asset stranding in resource-rich developing countries and the just transition - A framework to push research frontiers

Climate policy will inevitably lead to the stranding of fossil energy assets such as production and transport assets for coal, oil, and natural gas. Resource-rich developing countries are particularly affected, as they have a higher risk of asset stranding due to strong fossil dependencies and wider societal consequences beyond revenue disruption. However, there is only little academic and political awareness of the challenge to manage the asset stranding in these countries, as research on transition risk like asset stranding is still in its infancy. We provide a research framework to identify wider societal consequences of fossil asset stranding. We apply it to a case study of Nigeria. Analyzing different policy measures, we argue that compensation payments come with implementation challenges. Instead of one policy alone to address asset stranding, a problem-oriented mix of policies is needed. Renewable hydrogen and just energy transition partnerships can be a contribution to economic development and SDGs. However, they can only unfold their potential if fair benefit sharing and an improvement to the typical institutional problems in resource-rich countries, such as the lack of rule of law, are achieved. We conclude with presenting a future research agenda for the global community and academia.

Отношение населения к промышленному освоению территорий традиционного проживания коренных малочисленных народов Севера (на материалах этнологических экспертиз в Садынском наслеге Республики Саха (Якутия))

The article examines the attitude of the population of the Sadyn national Evenk nasleg of the Mirninskiy district of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to industrial development. The source for the study was the author’s field material collected as part of the ethnological environmental impact assessment; in particular, a sociological study that included questionnaire survey, expert and group interviews. The results of the study showed that the majority of the population has a negative attitude to the industrial development. Their concerns are related to the deterioration of the environmental situation and the reduction of land suitable for traditional farming and crafts. As a consequence, respondents are confident that the oil and gas exploration project in the territory of the nasleg will either have no effect on their social status and the nature of their work or will worsen their well-being. Positive expectations from the project are primarily related to the organization of new jobs and the improvement of the village. Respondents believe that the compensation of losses provided for by the ethnological expertise should be focused on each resident of the village. First of all, funds should be allocated for the construction of social facilities, training and employment of the youth of the village. Compensation payments should be annual. The research is aimed at solving social issues related to the industrial development of places of traditional residence of indigenous peoples. Recommendations in the search for compromise solutions are given.

LAND ACQUISITION AND RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION

This article discusses the new law and an attempt to achieve fairness in the payment of compensation. In India, price is the most important issue in the majority of land acquisition disputes. It is necessary to get the right information about the price of land. Secrecy, misinformation, and misconception are as common in land-related sales and purchases as in arrange marriages. There are different ranges of prices that vary per acre of the land. The highest point of the price of land is in an urban area, especially in metro cities. For paying compensation it is necessary to have a market and it is very difficult to fix the price of that kind of land for which the market does not exist. Some regions of the country have few land sales and purchase every year especially in the area of Adivasi lands that are protected from sales to an outsider. How can the price be fixed by the acquiring authority in the Adivasi area? Such types of objection are still very much prevalent and which has not been able to be solved because of genuine issues.

The economics of coal phaseouts: auctions as a novel policy instrument for the energy transition

ABSTRACT Background: The combustion of coal, the world's most polluting form of energy, must be significantly curtailed to limit the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C. Since carbon pricing is politically constrained, alternative policies, such as compensating coal plant owners, for early closure are being considered. Methods: Germany is the only country to date to have implemented a reverse auction to give compensation payments for early coal retirement. We analyse the merits and demerits of Germany's policy, drawing comparisons with other countries that have phased out coal through other means. Results: While bilateral negotiations can lead to excessive compensation due to asymmetric information, a competitive auction can discover the true cost of closure and help allocate funds more efficiently and transparently. Germany's experience illustrates the practical necessity of adjusting auction design to ensure additionality, reduce the risk of gaming and manage the security of supply. Conclusion: While auctions have attractive properties in theory, in practice, their design must address these concerns to unlock the full benefits. Retirement auctions that deliver compensation payments can be a pragmatic policy option, particularly in countries where an incumbent coal lobby makes punitive measures such as carbon taxation hard to implement. However, where there is a concentration in coal plant ownership, auctions will not work and alternative policies, such as enhanced incentives for scrappage and repurposing of coal assets, could be used instead.

The Association of Physiotherapy Continuity of Care with Duration of Time Loss Among Compensated Australian Workers with Low Back Pain.

The aims of this study are to determine how continuous the care provided by physiotherapists to compensated workers with low back pain is, what factors are associated with physiotherapy continuity of care (CoC; treatment by the same provider), and what the association between physiotherapy CoC and duration of working time loss is. Workers' compensation claims and payments data from Victoria and South Australia were analysed. Continuity of care was measured with the usual provider continuity metric. Binary logistic regression examined factors associated with CoC. Cox regression models examined the association between working time loss and CoC. Thirty-six percent of workers experienced complete CoC, 25.8% high CoC, 26.1% moderate CoC, and 11.7% low CoC. Odds of complete CoC decreased with increased service volume. With decreasing CoC, there was significantly longer duration of compensated time loss. Higher CoC with a physiotherapist is associated with shorter compensated working time loss duration for Australian workers with low back pain.

Lessons learnt on patient safety in dentistry through a 5-year nationwide database study on iatrogenic harm

Safe delivery of care is a priority in dentistry, while basic epidemiological knowledge of patient safety incidents is still lacking. The objectives of this study were to (1) classify patient safety incidents related to primary dental care in Denmark in the period 2016–2020 and study the distribution of different types of dental treatment categories where harm occurred, (2) clarify treatment categories leading to "nerve injury" and "tooth loss" and (3) assess the financial cost of patient-harm claims. Data from the Danish Dental Compensation Act (DDCA) database was retrieved from all filed cases from 1st January 2016 until 31st December 2020 pertaining to: (1) The reason why the patient applied for treatment-related harm compensation, (2) the event that led to the alleged harm (treatment category), (3) the type of patient-harm, and (4) the financial cost of all harm compensations. A total of 9069 claims were retrieved, of which 5079 (56%) were found eligible for compensation. The three most frequent categories leading to compensation were "Root canal treatment and post preparation"(n = 2461, 48% of all approved claims), “lack of timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment” (n = 905, 18%) and “surgery” (n = 878, 17%). Damage to the root of the tooth accounted for more than half of all approved claims (54.36%), which was most frequently a result of either parietal perforation during endodontic treatment (18.54%) or instrument fracture (18.89%). Nerve injury accounted for 16.81% of the approved claims. Total cost of all compensation payments was €16,309,310, 41.1% of which was related to surgery (€6,707,430) and 20.4% (€3,322,927) to endodontic treatment. This comprehensive analysis documents that harm permeates all aspects of dentistry, especially in endodontics and surgery. Neglect or diagnostic delays contribute to 18% of claims, indicating that harm does not solely result from direct treatment. Treatment harm inflicts considerable societal costs.

Beyond "business as usual": lessons from FIFA for fair benefit-sharing in global health.

While researchers and agencies from low- and middle-income countries often contribute significantly to public health surveillance data, which is crucial for effective pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response activities, they often do not receive adequate compensation for their contributions. Incentivizing data sharing is important for informing public health responses to pathogens with pandemic potential. However, existing data-sharing legal frameworks have limitations. In this context, we looked beyond "business as usual" candidates to explore the applicability of a benefit-sharing model developed and implemented by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football; FIFA) in international association football. This model rewards grassroots contributions and redistributes benefits, promoting a fair balance of interests across diverse economic contexts. We discuss adapting FIFA's mechanisms, including training compensation and solidarity payments, to create a novel benefit-sharing framework in global health. Given the complexity of global health, we note ways in which components of the FIFA model would need to be adapted for global health. Challenges such as integrating into existing legal frameworks, ensuring broad international buy-in, and accommodating different pandemic periods are examined. While adapting the FIFA model presents challenges, it offers a promising approach to achieving more equitable data sharing and benefit distribution in global health.

Compensation as a planning compass: decision making in light of future claims and lawsuits

ABSTRACT Local governments around the world are typically required to compensate property owners for decline in property values due to planning actions. This has impacted and constrained the ability of cities to manage and plan their environments. We explore how issues of compensation, or the fear of compensation payments, influence the planning process and system. Delving into Israel’s planning system, renowned for its generous compensation regime, we examine Tel-Aviv‘s largest conservation plan, which afforded heritage protection to a thousand buildings, and inquire how issues of compensation affected decisions during the planning and implementation stages of the city’s most significant conservation policy.