EC Member Countries Research Articles

국내 교통소음 피해의 외부비용(소음피해비용) 산정

The European Commission estimates have shown that the costs of various forms of externalities occurring in the transport sector, such as accidents, air pollution, climate change, noise, and congestion, have risen three times in 2008, 2014, and 2019. Among them, the report published in 2019 is the latest report that systematically summarizes the results of numerous independent, individual, and partial studies conducted in Europe. The report provides additional information to existing research, estimation methodologies, basic data, estimation results, limitations, problems, etc., for the cost estimation of each external effect. This paper introduces the core contents of the EC (2019) by limiting the noise generated by various external effects on traffic inquiries, particularly the external cost basic unit, average cost, and marginal cost of traffic noise for all EC member countries. Simple values present the results of converting the Korean cost using the traditional method. Subsequently, the method through which the external cost of traffic noise converted in this way is utilized is presented in detail.

The LOBI Integral System Test Facility Experimental Programme

The LOBI project has been carried out in the framework of the European Commission Reactor Safety Research Programme in close collaboration with institutional and/or industrial research organizations of EC member countries. The primary objective of the research programme was the generation of an experimental data base for the assessment of the predictive capabilities of thermal-hydraulic system codes used in pressurised water reactor safety analysis. Within this context, experiments have been conducted in the LOBI integral system test facility designed, constructed, and operated (1979–1991) at the Ispra Site of the Joint Research Centre. This paper provides a historical perspective and summarizes major achievements of the research programme which has represented an effective approach to international collaboration in the field of reactor safety research and development. Emphasis is also placed on knowledge management aspects of the acquired experimental data base and on related online open access/retrieval user functionalities.

Medical humanities and philosophy of medicine

Medical humanities and philosophy of medicine

Regulation of healthcare ethics committees in Europe.

In this article, the question is discussed if and how Healthcare Ethics Committees (HECs) should be regulated. The paper consists of two parts. First, authors from eight EC member countries describe the status quo in their respective countries, and give reasons as to the form of regulation they consider most adequate. In the second part, the country reports are analysed. It is suggested that regulation of HECs should be central and weak. Central regulation is argued to be apt to improve HECs’ accountability, relevance and comparability. To facilitate biomedical citizenship and ethical reflection, regulation should at the same time be weak rather than strict. Independence of HECs to deliberate about ethical questions, and to give solicited and unsolicited advice, should be supported and only interfered with by way of exception. One exception is when circumstances become temporary adversarial to ethical deliberation in healthcare institutions. In view of European unification, steps should be taken to develop consistent policies for both Eastern and Western European countries.

ILEAP: INTERACTIVE LEARNING OF ENERGETIC UTILISATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS

Human Support in Renewable Agriculture for a Sustainable Europe Researches and experiments have been carried out on bioenergy production all over the world for the utilisation of renewable sources. Based upon their results the biomass of forestry, agricultural by-products, animal by-products and energy crop cultivation are main factors that should be count upon. Although there are courses, modules in the frame of university education, that partially meet certain expectations (e.g: waste-management, technology) in different EC member countries, there is no certified e-learning training and education program offered with a special focus devoted to Energetic Utilisation of Agricultural Products and By-products. The main aim of this project is to develop a certified e-learning training and education program and guidelines that includes e-learning elements through a step by step procedure, based on the experience of different partners, to support target group in their professional advancement. Our project is financed by the Leonardo da Vinci Community vocational training action programme. The project is coordinated by Hatarok Nelkul Iroda (without Frontiers Office) working together with partners from Romania, Hungary, Greece and Austria.

山岳地域における農業保護

This paper intends to survey governmental measures for protection of agriculture in the mountain area, one of the most important task for Japanese agricultural policy after GATT Uruguay Round, focusing especially on Bavaria, Germany. Since 1975 Germany, as other member countries of EC, has introduced the policy for Less-favored Area(LFA) in order to maintain a minimum level of population and to conserve the countryside. LFA in Germany consists of three categories, at first Mountain Area with high altitude and slope, secondly Less-favored Agricultural Area characterized by land infertility and depopulation, thirdly Small Area with specific handicap for environmental protection. Today the percent of LFA to the total utilized agricultural area is over 50％ and that of Mountain Area is only 2％. In the case of Bavaria, 60％ to the total utilized agricultural area is LFA, which includes 6.6％ Mountain Area. There are two measures for the income compensation of farmers, LFA policy and the state original program for conserving cultivated landscape (Kulturlandschaftsprogramm: KULAP), both make farmers in Mountain Area get highest income compensation and continue farming. In the case of farmers with alpine pasture in Oberbayern, 46％ to the total farm income is covered with income compensation, 20％ is out of light business such as rural tourism and forestry. If we are willing to conserve cultivated landscape in Japanese mountain area, how to encourage farming, forestry and light business should be considered as in Mountain Area in European countries.

Prices, distribution channels and regulatory intervention in European insurance markets. : Finsinger J., Schmid F.A., The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance, nr. 70, 1994, pp. 22–36.

The 'Cost of Non-Europe' reports suggest that the opening of European national financial services markets will benefit consumers by increasing competition. But these gains are only some of the potential consumer benefits that may result from European market integration. The EC-member countries have developed quite different schemes of insurance market regulations. Except for an agreement on some basic aspects such as solvency regulations. a harmonisation of the national rules of insurance market regulations was not achieved. For the time being, some markets continue to be highly regulated while others remain relatively unregulated. When freedom of service will finally be realised in Europe, insurance contracts written under different regulatory rules will compete with each other. Ultimately, as the volume of exports grows, the national regulatory rules will be put to the market test. This paper will provide an empirical analysis of how regulatory schemes affect key market characteristics and thus contribute to an understanding of the forces unleashed by the freedom of service program.

On the Statutory Autonomy of the Czech National Bank

The end of the 1980s marks the collapse of the communist regime in Central and East European countries. Among them, the Czech Republic is the economy farthest along the path of transition to a Western-style market economy. After the Velvet Revolution in November 1989 and the breakup of the federation on January 1, 1993,1 there are now strong indications of institutional and economic recovery. For example, before 1990 most banking fumctions were almost entirely in the hands of the State Bank of Czechoslovakia as a one-tier bank, performing the role of both central and commercial bank. Now, banking fumctions are dispersed throughout the system, with roughly 50 commercial banks operating under the supervision of the newly established Czech National Bank (CNB).2 In the meantime, domestic authorities are attempting to steer the economy along the road to a free market and open their country even more by creating better relationships with industrial economies and in particular with EC member-countries. This in turn will demand an environment more conducive to foreign direct investment and international trade.3 To summarize, the Czech Republic (CR) will begin to look like a market economy with all its inherent problems. And, like most Western economies, the CR will have to deal with the control of inflation and unemployment. From the side of monetary control,

The international transmission of economic shocks in a three-country world under mixed exchange rates

The international transmission of economic disturbances is analyzed in a three-country world where two countries have no macroeconomic impact on a third country but are large enough to influence each other under a system of mixed exchange rates (MER)—a system that combines the fixed exchange rates (FERs) among two EC member countries (Germany and France) and the flexible exchange rates (FLERs) towards a third country, the rest of the world (USA). We find that a positive output demand shock originating in Germany or France has a positive effect on domestic output, but, due to a special third country effect, is likely to produce a contractionary impact on foreign output (negative transmission) while the total effect on the world economy is expansionary. Money supply shocks in either Germany or France have identical effects on the output of the two countries. The FLER component of the MER regime serves as an important tool for dampening the impact of US shocks on the output of the EC. (JEL F31).

Croissance et emploi : l'ambition d'une initiative européenne

Croissance et emploi : l'ambition d'une initiative européenne

Prices, Distribution Channels and Regulatory Intervention in European Insurance Markets

The 'Cost of Non-Europe' reports suggest that the opening of European national financial services markets will benefit consumers by increasing competition. But these gains are only some of the potential consumer benefits that may result from European market integration. The EC-member countries have developed quite different schemes of insurance market regulations. Except for an agreement on some basic aspects such as solvency regulations. a harmonisation of the national rules of insurance market regulations was not achieved. For the time being, some markets continue to be highly regulated while others remain relatively unregulated. When freedom of service will finally be realised in Europe, insurance contracts written under different regulatory rules will compete with each other. Ultimately, as the volume of exports grows, the national regulatory rules will be put to the market test. This paper will provide an empirical analysis of how regulatory schemes affect key market characteristics and thus contribute to an understanding of the forces unleashed by the freedom of service program.

Seigniorage and EMU: The fiscal implications of price stability and financial market integration

Disinflation, especially if coupled with financial market liberalisation, has implications for public finances because it lowers the revenue from the inflation tax. There might thus be a trade-off between the criteria on inflation convergence and public finances that were set at Maastricht. This paper measures the effects of lower inflation and financial market integration on the revenue from seigniorage for the EC member countries that have in the past relied most heavily on this source of revenues. The main result is that disinflation alone will reduce the revenue from seigniorage by over 2% of GDP in Greece, but much less than 1% of GDP in the other countries considered here. The overall impact of EMU (i.e. disinflation plus financial market integration) is a loss of seigniorage revenues of 2.9% of GDP in Greece and a little over 1% of GDP in Portugal and Spain. Two different measures of seigniorage yield similar results regarding the overall change, but differ regarding the transitional period and the level.

Central banking in a monetary union: reflections on the proposed statute of the European Central Bank

European countries are currently ratifying amendments to the Treaty of Rome to allow the creation of a single European currency and a European Central Bank. If the amendments come into effect, Europe (or a subset) will have a new, single currency by 1999 at the latest. This paper discusses the statutes of the central bank from the perspective of the theory of central banking. First it describes the institutional framework. Then it discusses separately the issues relating to monetary policy and banking policy. The paper concludes that the ECB is unlikely to maintain low inflation. Also, the presence of a variety of financial systems and institutions in the EC member countries is not compatible with the establishment of a single currency managed by a single central bank.

THE ASSESSMENT: THE EUROPEAN INTERNAL MARKET: THE NEXT STEPS

The Treaty of Rome envisaged the creation of the common, internal market between the member states of the European Community. Progress to wards this goal has been slow, punctuated by sudden bursts of activity. After the expiry of the deadline for the 1992 programme, 1993 may mark the beginning of a prolonged pause, or it may provide the impetus towards full economic, mon etary, and political integration. At the time of writing, the Treaty on European Union (the Maas tricht Treaty), the product of the French initiative to bind a unified Germany into the European economy, has not yet been ratified in all EC member coun tries. The second Danish referendum is outstand ing, as is completion of the ratification process in the UKparliament. The Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) has come under severe pressure, with the suspension of UK membership and a series of devaluations. In short, monetary integration ac cording to the Delors programme seems more remote now than at any time since the UK joined the ERM: stage n is extremely unlikely to begin on 1 January 1994.2 The main cause of these difficulties has been German reunification. High German inter est rates have not only undermined currency pari ties; they have also exacerbated recession across the Community. This shock to the European Commu nity will take several years more to work through.

The Financing and Taxation of Corporations - A Comparing Analysis for the EC-Member Countries Germany, France and Great Britain

The Financing and Taxation of Corporations - A Comparing Analysis for the EC-Member Countries Germany, France and Great Britain

Long-Term Forecasts for Tourism Industries: the Case of Austria and Switzerland

This paper outlines the design of a causal econometric model for world tourism. The model allows for long-term forecasts of outgoing and incoming tourism for each country considered (here with a special emphasis on Austria and Switzerland) in a consistent international model setting. The main forecast result in the baseline scenario is that Austria gains market share in the long run, Switzerland loses significant market share. The growing tourism import demand resulting from the completion of the international European Community (EC)- market is widely allocated to the EC-member countries and the overseas destinations in the form of additional export growth. The non-EC member Austria loses market share. Switzerland would have even greater market share losses compared to the baseline scenario.

Import market penetration in services

The EC-1992 programme foresees the complete liberalization of trade in services among member countries. To what extent has import market penetration in the Community already begun in selected service industries? Which EC member countries have been the forerunners to date? The following paper uses a new data base released recently by EUROSTAT in an attempt to answer these and other related questions.

Corporate Income Tax Harmonization and Capital Allocation in the European Community

This paper examines the potential distortionary effects of differences in company income taxation on the allocation of non-financial capital in an integrated European market. Effective company tax rates are constructed for EC member countries and the allocative effects are simulated through the use of a simple general-equilibrium model. The main conclusions are that: there is presently considerable dispersion of effective tax rates; meaningful convergence requires harmonization of both rates and tax base; and while the direct efficiency gain from harmonization is relatively small, the adjustment implied for some countries can be significant.

Graduate Prospects Profiled

The immediate future prospects for the employment of graduates is examined, especially in the light of 1992 and the Single Market. Key areas are reviewed together with a relevant breakdown of EC member countries, the whole illuminated by extremely informative figures.

Seigniorage in the EC: The Implications of the EMS and Financial Market Integration

The paper measures the effects of the integration of European financial markets and lower inflation in the EMS on the revenue from seigniorage for the EC member countries with particular focus on the high inflation countries. Assuming that by 1992 all EC members participate fully in the EMS and reserve requirements are unified, the revenue from seigniorage will be reduced by about 2 percentage points of GDP in Greece and Portugal and 0.5-0.8 percentage points in Italy and Spain. Two different measures of seigniorage yield similar results regarding the change, but differ regarding the level.