Level Of Enforcement Research Articles

A brief reflection on the Mediterranean fisheries: bad news, good news and no news

The Mediterranean Sea has been the cradle of Western civilization and its coastal communities have been exploiting all forms of marine life, since ancient times. Concerns regarding fishing and the effects of overfishing were hypothesized as far back as the 14th century. More significant in terms of employment than production, Mediterranean fisheries are characterized by high diversity of catches, relatively small size of specimens and numerous small scale vessels. About 85 percent of Mediterranean stocks, currently assessed, are fished at biologically unsustainable levels with exploitation rate steadily increasing, selectivity deteriorating, and stocks shrinking. The most encouraging message is that the state of knowledge on the fish stocks has improved rapidly and the number of assessed stocks has almost doubled recently. Due to the multinational status of the Mediterranean waters, a maze of management regulations is currently in place, varying among neighbouring countries. Given the special characteristics and 'peculiarities' of the Mediterranean Sea, an effort-regulating regime has been considered as the most appropriate management strategy, accompanied by licensing schemes, closed areas and technical measures. The effectiveness of this management approach is reflected on the alarming state of the stocks. Furthermore, Mediterranean fisheries have a notorious reputation as having an inherent 'culture of non-compliance' largely ignoring rules. Current levels of control and enforcement are insufficient to confront fleets with a large number of vessels and recent economic crisis has amplified the problem. It seems that the impacts of Mediterranean fisheries on fish stocks and marine ecosystems need to be reassessed based on new approaches, either shifting towards simple catch-based management or the more elaborate ecosystem based management. However, the ultimate goal should be to change the mind-set of fishers and motivate them to produce the right type of seafood without exposing themselves to bad practices and exposing the ecosystem to unsustainable exploitation.

Transformation of Muslim Behaviour towards Sustainable Environment: Perspectives of Non-Governmental Organisations in Klang Valley

Man cannot depend solely on science and technology to solve environmental problems. In fact, scholars and environmentalists have observed that some of the causes of environmental deterioration are rooted in science and technology. It is clear that environmental problems need ethical solution. However, environmentally ethical behaviour (EEB) is often overlooked in the life of a Muslim. This behaviour is important, particularly, to ensure the future of civilization of the Islamic world and, generally, civilization as a whole. Given the fact that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are more sensitive to the transformation of public behaviour compared to other groups, this article discusses the perspectives of Malaysian NGOs on the transformation of Muslim EEB in Malaysia in three aspects: (a) The type of EEB practiced by Muslims in Malaysia; (b) The transformation process of EEB experienced by Muslims in Malaysia; and (c) Whether or not the transformation of EEB of Muslims in Malaysia is motivated by the values advocated by Islam. The research adopted a qualitative research method of data collection, i.e., focus group discussions (FGDs). FGD’s results illustrated that: (a) Pre-cycling, reusing and recycling are the common types of EEB practiced by Muslims in Malaysia; (b) The transformation process of EEB experienced by Muslims in Malaysia is not accelerating at the speed that we hoped for; and (c) The transformation of EEB of Muslims in Malaysia is motivated more by economic and social factors as well as level of education and regulation enforcement compared to the values advocated by Islam.

A Comparison of Data Protection Legislation and Policies Across the EU

Although the protection of personal data is harmonized within the EU by Directive 95/46/EC and will be further harmonized by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, there are significant differences in the ways in which EU member states implemented the protection of privacy and personal data in national laws, policies, and practices. This paper presents the main findings of a research project that compares the protection of privacy and personal data in eight EU member states: France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Romania, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The comparison focuses on five major themes: awareness and trust, government policies for personal data protection, the applicable laws and regulations, implementation of those laws and regulations, and supervision and enforcement. The comparison of privacy and data protection regimes across the EU shows some remarkable findings, revealing which countries are front runners and which countries are lagging behind on specific aspects. For instance, the roles of and interplay between governments, civil rights organizations, and data protections authorities vary from country to country. Furthermore, with regard to privacy and data protection there are differences in the intensity and scope of political debates, information campaigns, media attention, and public debate. New concepts like privacy impact assessments, privacy by design, data breach notifications and big data are on the agenda in some but not all countries. Significant differences exist in (the levels of) enforcement by the different data protection authorities, due to different legal competencies, available budgets and personnel, policies, and cultural factors.

The Role of Taxes in Russian National Security

The paper tries to identify the impact of fiscal system on national security. The author evaluates the acting Strategy of National Security of Russia, analyses national fiscal policies, and contrasts different points of view on national fiscal security. The paper also contains a new definition of fiscal security as the capacity of national economy to generate tax revenues sufficient to cover the expenditures related to national security. To assess the role of taxes in national security a correlation study of tax revenues and individual types of budgetary expenditures in 2005-2015 was conducted. It was found that most strategic priorities of state funding correlate with tax revenues. However expenditures on national economy and environmental protection correlate with tax revenues to the lesser extent. Tax revenue elasticity of budgetary expenditures was calculated as well. The results showed a strong dependence of crime level on tax revenues of the state budget. The research period witnessed a growth in budgetary expenditures on law enforcement accompanied by a decline in crime level, and vice versa a cut in funding resulted in higher crime level. National defense is less dependent on tax revenues. Regardless of annual growth in military funding armed forces showed a decline in quantitative indicators. Highlights Most strategic directions of Russian budget expenses have close correlation with the amount of tax revenues The level of law enforcement and public safety in Russia directly depends on the amount of tax revenues to the budget Russia’s defense capacity depends on the state tax income insignificantly because the dynamics of budget tax revenues does not influence the changes of Russia’s defense capacity indicators substantially For citation Fedotov D. Yu. The Role of Taxes in Russian National Security. Journal of Tax Reform, 2017, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 6–17. DOI : 10.15826/jtr.2017.3.1.027 Article info Received February 15, 2017; accepted March 20, 2017

Intangible Assets and the Organization of Global Supply Chains

This paper introduces the concept of intangible assets in sequential supply chains and the importance of their appropriability in the organizational decision of firms. We focus on the quality of intellectual property rights (IPR) institutions, which on top of the hold-up problem between a supplier and the final producer entails an additional risk of imitation as technology may leak to competing producers in the market. The level of IPR enforcement in the location of a supplier can therefore play a crucial role in determining the decision of a final good producer whether to outsource or integrate a particular stage of production. The analysis is performed with Antras and Chor (2013) in the background, where the position of the input along the supply chain, i.e. its upstreamness, and the degree of sequential complementarity of stage-specific inputs influence the organizational strategy of firms through the incentive structure of supplier investments. Our findings show that introducing intangible assets in sequential supply chain may have the opposite effect of contractibility on outsourcing decision, where only tangible property rights are considered. We argue therefore that the risk of imitation is a relevant feature that needs to be accounted for in the incomplete contract literature. Our theoretical predictions are validated on Slovenian firm-level data.

Green Growth in cities: two Australian cases

Green Growth (GG) is about decoupling emission intensity from economic growth, which can be achieved by fostering positive economic growth through resource-efficiency, cleaner environment and increased resilience to climate change. Cities play an important role in economic development, as they are inhabited by a large proportion of the global population in a relatively small land area and cities are the wheel of the economy of a country. Implementation and measurement of GG in cities is challenging as the regulatory framework, roles and responsibilities to the citizen and the encompassing environment of cities differ significantly. This can be addressed by identifying a set of GG indicators that are relevant to target cities, which would be used by the cities to implement programs and policies, and to measure progress and performance. Australia is situated in an environment somewhat disconnected from the rest of the world, which is home to unique biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems. The regulatory and institutional framework of Australian cities is different to many other cities in the world in terms of their obligations to the community and the environment, and the level of law enforcement, particularly in areas that are relevant for GG. This paper reviews the available GG indicators in cities and assesses the applicability of those indicators against the regulatory and institutional framework of Australian cities. The application of the proposed set of indicators to the City of Melbourne and the City of Perth helped to validate the appropriateness of those indicators and to assess the performance of the cities in relation to GG. It appears that the cities are performing well in some areas and need improvement in others. The cities also need to mainstream the GG indicators and to align their data measurement and recording systems in line with the proposed GG indicators.

Employer Sanctions and the Wages of Mexican Immigrants

Wage differences between authorized and unauthorized Mexican immigrants can be explained by human capital factors prior to the 1986 passage of employer sanctions, which prohibited knowingly hiring unauthorized aliens. However, a significant post-1986 wage differential has been interpreted as employers “passing along” expected costs of sanctions through lower wages for unauthorized immigrants. I test this explanation using administrative data on employer sanctions enforcement, finding employer sanctions enforcement levels are related to Mexican immigrants’ wages but have no statistically significant differential effect based on legal status. Estimated savings to employers due to the pay gap are orders of magnitude larger than actual fines.

The Role of Affirmative Action on Empowering Women's, in the Case of L/HaHale

In this research, the researchers mainly focus on the title of affirmative action in empowering women` in L/HaHale tabia. It is obvious that perception and attitude of women`s and administration staff influence the enforcement level in affirmative action. In addition to this study also used different variable that may affect affirmative action. In conduction, the research both qualitative and quantitative method of data collection were employed the tools for data collection were key information interview and questionnaire analyzed by using simple random sampling and non-probability analysis. The result obtained presented by using table and percentage. For success of the research both primary and secondary data were used. Finally, after summarized finding of the study, conclusions were made.

Accounting Quality and Loan Pricing: The Effect of Cross-country Differences in Legal Enforcement

This study examines whether the strength of legal enforcement at the country level plays a role in the value-relevance of accounting quality for loan pricing determination, using an international sample of firms reporting under IFRS. The underlying hypothesis is that stronger vs. weaker enforcement should affect the informativeness of financial statements, due to their increased credibility, and thus results in a stronger influence of accounting quality on loan pricing, in case this information is considered more reliable by potential lenders. Evidence indicates that accounting quality is consequential for the determination of loan spread only in combination with the level of legal enforcement, and this only holds for the countries with stronger legal enforcement. This evidence indicates that financial statement quality information is value-relevant and has a significant impact on the determination of loan pricing only if this information is considered to be credible enough by loan providers in a country, and this is the case when legal enforcement is stronger.

The effect of patent enforcement strength and FDI on economic growth

Purpose This paper aims to study the effects of the strength of patent enforcement on economic growth following the signing of the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the role of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in mediating and enhancing this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Following a generalized method of moments methodology, use is made of a new longitudinal index measuring the strength of enforcement-related aspects of patent systems. Findings Stronger levels of patent enforcement have a significant positive effect on the economic growth of both developed and developing countries. Importantly, inward FDI flows have a mediating role in positively boosting this effect for all countries and particularly for developed countries. Originality/value This is the first empirical study of the role of the strength of patent enforcement (“law in action”) in stimulating economic growth, as previous empirical studies have focused on the effect of the strength of patent law protection (“law on the books”). The failure in the past to allow for “law in action” was mainly due to the lack of available data that could proxy for the strength of patent enforcement levels in a country. This study utilizes a newly published, longitudinal index that captures the strength of the enforcement-related aspects of patent systems.

On the Transformations of European Consumer Enforcement Law: Judicial and Administrative Trialogues, Instruments and Effects

The enforcement of consumer law is characterized by a combination of judicial and administrative regimes that involve European and national institutions. The principle of sincere cooperation, enshrined in Art. 4(3) TEU, imposes the engagement of institutional dialogue based on loyalty. Increasingly, the Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) and, in particular Art. 47 CFR, plays a role in shaping enforcement both before courts and before administrative authorities exercising enforcement power. The separation between rights (at the EU level) and remedies (at the Member State level) has disintegrated, driven by the principles of equivalence and effectiveness.Fundamental rights and in particular the right to fair trial and to effective judicial protection are increasingly influencing both administrative enforcement and the scope of judicial review.The role of national courts as enforcers of EU law has long been recognized. However, the modes of interaction between administrative and judicial enforcement has been initially neglected; in recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to the coordination of different enforcement mechanisms, including private justice. This contribution examines the weaknesses of institutional design of the interaction between courts and administrative authorities exercising enforcement powers, broadly defined. Institutional dialogue between European and domestic enforcement bodies has been an important driver of legal innovation in European consumer law. The different levels of enforcement are not separate but rather interact continuously and often strategically. This chapter addresses and compares the different forms of institutional dialogue that have characterized judicial and administrative enforcement in consumer law and the potential role of Art. 47 CFR on the right to effective judicial protection. It shows that there is an erosion of the principle of procedural autonomy, in respect of which fundamental rights and general principles play an increasing role in defining the architecture of consumer enforcement. It concludes by analyzing how judicial and administrative enforcement of consumer law may be recombined in the light of the Charter’s impact. The shift from the multilevel approach to the dialogical approach forces us to rethink how national and European enforcers interplay, creating a body of rules strained between uniformity and diversity. The perspective of strategic interaction offers additional and more convincing explanations to the conventional multilevel literature and especially to the concrete operations of enforcement mechanisms.

Executive remuneration standards and the “conformity gap” at controlled corporations

In this paper we analyze the relationship between conformity to executive remuneration standards, corporate ownership, and the level and structure of CEO compensation for large European listed companies in the years 2007 and 2010. We show that controlled corporations conform to executive remuneration standards less than widely held firms. We also show that weaker compliance is associated with lower CEO pay and more cash-based incentive structures. We interpret this “conformity gap” from the perspective of individual firms and from a societal perspective, with the aim to contribute to frame the policy questions concerning executive pay at controlled corporations. Different policy implications depend on whether the conformity gap reflects a lower need for managerial incentives, given the monitoring by controlling shareholders, or the latter’s willingness to extract private benefits of control. We argue in this paper that the former hypothesis prevails, so that regulators should abstain from increasing the level of enforcement of executive remuneration standards.

Enforcement of Intellectual Property, Pollution Abatement, and Directed Technical Change

We theoretically investigate the interaction between endogenous enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and tax-financed pollution abatement measures. IPRs affect dirty and clean intermediates alike such that higher IPR enforcement may promote the transition to the clean technology, if this technology is productive enough. If the green technology is relatively unproductive, higher IPRs promote the dirty technology while pollution is increasing. As households are due to subsistence consumption subject to a hierarchy of needs, the level of IPR enforcement as well as the level of abatement measures depends on the state of technology and is increasing during economic development. Thus, if the incentive to enforce IPRs is low the level of abatement measures is also low. This argument provides a theoretical foundation for the observed clash of interests in international negotiation rounds regarding the harmonization of IPR protection and actions to combat climate change.

Managing conservation flagship species in competition: Tiger, leopard and dhole in Malaysia

Managing populations of large carnivore species that are threatened yet in competition with each other presents a conservation challenge over which species to prioritise. We investigated interspecific competition between the Endangered tiger and two sympatric carnivore species (Near-Threatened leopard and Endangered dhole) in Malaysia. We used a spatially-explicit camera trapping method to sample the three carnivore species in order to assess their: relative abundance; spatial co-occurrence; and, temporal overlap. Our focal landscape consists of two adjacent study areas that have different forest management regimes: 1) Royal Belum State Park (RBSP) which has relatively higher levels of enforcement resulting in high tiger and prey densities, and 2) Temengor Forest Reserve (TFR) which has no enforcement resulting in low tiger and prey densities. Our analyses found interspecific competition in the form of fine-scale spatial avoidance of tiger by leopard in RBSP, but not in TFR. Thus, leopard was less likely to occur in forest patches with greater tiger presence in RBSP. Dhole was not detected in RBSP, and showed no fine-scale spatial avoidance of tiger on TRF. It was unclear if absence of dhole in RBSP was due to the high tiger density, or another factor such as disease. Regardless, our results indicate dhole can persist in human-degraded forest landscapes. Neither leopards nor dholes showed any major temporal avoidance of tigers on either site. Our findings of fine-scale spatial avoidance by leopard towards tiger and possible exclusion of dhole by tiger in areas of high tiger density were similar to that found in other areas of Asia. Our study demonstrates that degraded forest can be important for threatened carnivores. It also provides a reminder that efforts to recover tiger populations, a conservation priority, may require flanking measures to secure meso-predator populations, especially those forced into edge environments where they come into greater contact with people.

Measuring Compliance with Executive Remuneration Standards at Controlled Corporations

In this paper we analyze the relationship between conformity to executive remuneration standards, corporate ownership, and the level and structure of CEO compensation for large European listed companies in the years 2007 and 2010. We show that controlled corporations, either family or State owned, conform to executive remuneration standards less than widely held firms. We also show that weaker compliance is associated with lower CEO pay and more “conservative” incentive structures. We interpret this “conformity gap” from the perspective of individual firms and from a societal perspective, with the aim to contribute to frame the policy questions concerning executive pay at controlled corporations. Different policy implications depend on whether the conformity gap reflects a lower need for managerial incentives, given the monitoring by controlling shareholders, or the latter’s willingness to extract private benefits of control. We argue in this paper that the former hypothesis seems to prevail, so that regulators should abstain from increasing the level of enforcement of executive remuneration standards.

Hard soft law or soft hard law? A content analysis of CSR guidelines typologized along hybrid legal status

A CSR guideline is an instrument aimed at guiding companies towards the application of CSR to limit the impact that the company has on society. The main problem concerned with CSR guidelines is that their legal status is blurred and as a consequence, their level of enforceability is not clearly understandable. Therefore, this paper focuses on defining the legal status of CSR guidelines through a content analysis of a sample of 34 CSR guidelines.

Analysis of corporate governance disclosure: a study through BRICS countries

Purpose The study aims to analyze the level of the disclosure of corporate governance practices by the companies that belong to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries according to normative recommendations and coercive requirements considering the enforcement of laws and norms in the different legal systems and to explain it in the light of the institutional theory approach. Design/methodology/approach The practices disclosed by a sample of the 20 largest companies listed on the stock exchanges of each of the BRICS countries were analysed, and the 52 practices recommended by UNCTAD (2009) were used as a parameter. The corporate governance practices of the companies were confronted with the laws, rules and norms that require or recommend their adoption and disclosure. Findings China has 49 practices required by own national law in face of 52 recommended by UNCTAD/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) followed by South Africa with 44, Russia with 33, Brazil with 28 and India with 24. Brazil has 47 practices recommended by own national governance code in face of 52 recommended by UNCTAD/Intergovernmental Working group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR), followed by Russia with 45, China with 44, South Africa with 41 and India with 22. It was found that Brazil has the higher median of number of companies disclosing corporate governance practices with 17, followed by India with 13, Russia with 11, South Africa and China with 7. Research limitations/implications This research shows that more studies are necessary using the institutional theory to investigate how the normative and coercive pressures influence the disclosure of corporate governance information considering the enforcement of laws and norms in the different legal systems. Practical implications The differences observed in this study about normative and coercive forces are presented as an opportunity in the legal sphere of some countries to implement mechanisms to increase their level of enforcement. Originality/value This research contributes to various audiences such as governmental institutions, professional associations, market institutions to better understand their role in the improvement of the adoption of corporate governance practices and disclosure of information related to it.

Lack of recreational fishing compliance may compromise effectiveness of Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia

Compliance with spatial fishing regulations (e.g., marine protected areas, fishing closures) is one of the most important, yet rarely measured, determinants of ecological recovery. We used aerial observations of recreational fishing events from creel surveys before, during, and after 77 Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) were established in British Columbia, Canada. There was no evidence of a change in fishing effort in 83% of the RCAs, and effort in five RCAs increased after establishment. Fishing effort in open areas adjacent to the RCAs declined with time and was higher than effort in the RCAs in all 3 years. Next, we used compliance data for 105 RCAs around Vancouver Island to model the drivers of compliance. Compliance was related to the level of fishing effort around the RCA, the size and perimeter-to-area ratio of RCAs, proximity to fishing lodges, and the level of enforcement. Noncompliance in RCAs may be hampering their effectiveness and impeding rockfish recovery. Education and enforcement efforts to reduce fishing effort inside protected areas are critical to the recovery of depleted fish stocks.

Balanced harvesting is the bioeconomic equilibrium of a size-structured Beverton-Holt model

Balanced harvesting (BH) was introduced as an alternative strategy to size-at-entry fishing with the aim of maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning. BH has been criticized on a number of grounds, including that it would require an infeasible level of micromanagement and enforcement. Recent results from a size-spectrum model show that the distribution of fishing mortality across body sizes that emerges from the behaviour of a large number of fishing agents corresponds to BH in a single species. Size-spectrum models differ from classical size-structured models used in fisheries as they are based on a bookkeeping of biomass transfer from prey to predator rather than a von Bertalanffy growth model. Here we investigate a classical Beverton-Holt model coupled with the Gordon-Schaefer harvesting model extended to allow for differential fishing pressure at different body sizes. This models an open-access fishery in which individual fishing agents act to maximize their own economic return. We show that the equilibrium of the harvesting model produces an aggregate fishing mortality that is closely matched to the production at different body sizes, in other words BH of a single species. These results have significant implications because they show that the robustness of BH does not depend on arguments about the relative production levels of small versus large fish.

Smoking on the margins: a comprehensive analysis of a municipal outdoor smoke-free policy.

BackgroundThis study examined the formulation, adoption, and implementation of a ban on smoking in the parks and beaches in Vancouver, Canada.MethodsInformed by Critical Multiplism, we explored the policy adoption process, support for and compliance with a local bylaw prohibiting smoking in parks and on beaches, experiences with enforcement, and potential health equity issues through a series of qualitative and quantitative studies.ResultsFindings suggest that there was unanimous support for the introduction of the bylaw among policy makers, as well as a high degree of positive public support. We observed that smoking initially declined following the ban’s implementation, but that smoking practices vary in parks by location. We also found evidence of different levels of enforcement and compliance between settings, and between different populations of park and beach users.ConclusionsOverall success with the implementation of the bylaw is tempered by potential increases in health inequities because of variable enforcement of the ban; greatest levels of smoking appear to continue to occur in the least advantaged areas of the city. Jurisdictions developing such policies need to consider how to allocate sufficient resources to enhance voluntary compliance and ensure that such bylaws do not contribute to health inequities.