Position In Negotiations Research Articles

Escaping the Unemployment Trap: The Case of East Germany

This paper addresses the question of why high unemployment rates tend to persist even after their proximate causes have been reversed (e.g., after wages relative to productivity have fallen). We suggest that the longer people are unemployed, the greater is their cumulative likelihood of falling into a low-productivity trap, through the attrition of skills and work habits. We develop a model along these lines, which allows us to bridge the gap between high macroeconomic employment persistence versus relatively high microeconomic labor market flow numbers. We calibrate the model for East Germany and examine the effectiveness of three employment policies in this context: (i) a weakening of workers’ position in wage negotiations due to a drop in the replacement rate or firing costs, leading to a fall in wages, (ii) hiring subsidies, and (iii) training subsidies. We show that the employment effects of these policies depend crucially on whether low-productivity traps are present.

Marketing EconomicsPricing and reimbursement: Towards a holistic approach

As health care systems are continuously fragmenting into diversified care models with underlying specific cost models, pricing and reimbursement is becoming an increasingly complex issue for drug companies. The main challenge is to incorporate a payor's perspective into price calculation while pinpointing the adequate product value. This paper describes the situation in Germany and proposes a multi-dimensional model enabling companies to create a decision algorithm leading to more precise individual pricing and thus a stronger position in reimbursement negotiations.

The Group of 77 in the international climate negotiations: recent developments and future directions

First, we describe and analyze the main set of G77 positions in the climate negotiations and the dynamics behind the emergence of these positions. While it is puzzling that the G77 has managed to maintain itself as a group in spite of internal differences along variables as prosperity, emissions and vulnerability to climate change, we claim that a core element behind this cohesion is that these countries share domestic governance problems as much as poverty and economic underdevelopment. Second, we discuss how recent trends of economic and political development in the third world influence the climate policy strategies of the G77 group in the future. The main factor here is the economicand social progress in states like China, India and Brazil, which separates them from the poorer and less powerful G77 states. Increasing heterogeneity along variables like governance, growth, and importance for the international economy is creating an increasing drive among the most successful G77 states towards bilateral agreements with industrialised powers. We do not foresee a departure from traditional G77 positions and membership by these states in the official climate negotiations or a departure from the Kyoto process, but an increasing reliance on bilateral agreements with industrialized countries that link considerations for energy security and the environment. The ability to gain these advantages without commitments may make these states less interested in adopting commitments for the post-Kyoto period. This is unfortunate for the LDCs and the AOSIS groups within the G77, who probably are most vulnerable to climate change.

Managing Globalization? The EU in International Trade Negotiations*

AbstractThrough a study of the evolution of the concept of ‘managed globalization’ in trade, an idea conceptualized by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy in 1999 and replaced by the new policy of ‘Global Europe’ in 2006, this article analyses whether the Commission has had an autonomous impact on the EU position in international trade negotiations, especially in the Doha Round of the WTO. Such autonomy appears wider at first glance than it actually is, since it is hard to find evidence that the doctrinal shift occurred against Member State preferences. In the end, the true (but limited) autonomy of the Commission comes from its entrepreneurial ability to repackage Member State preferences into a consensual doctrine.

무연탄 화력발전소의 이산화탄소 배출계수 개발

Although the anthracite power plant is an important source of greenhouse gas, research on this type of power plant has not been conducted much. The present study investigated the entire anthracite power plants in Korea and analyzed the emitted gas in connection with GC/FD and a methanizer in order to develop emission factors. The study also sampled the anthracite to analyze the amount of carbon and hydrogen using an element analyzer, and to measure the calorie using an automatic calorie analyzer. The emission factors computed through the fuel analysis was 30.45 kg/GJ and that computed through the gas analysis was 26.48 kg/GJ. The former is approximately about 15% higher than the latter. When compared the carbon content factors of anthracite with that of bituminous coal, the value of anthracite was 24% higher Compared with IPCC values, the emission factors by the fuel was 14% higher, and that by the emitted gas was about 1.2% lower. More research is needed on our own emission factors of various energy-consuming facilities in order to stand on a higher position in international negotiations regarding the treaties on climate changes.

Desafios, estratégias e alianças das centrais sindicais no Mercosul

In this article, the authors analyse the challenges, strategies and alliances of the trade union movement face to the Southern Common Market (Mercosul), aiming at the understanding of how these actors have achieved regional areas for negotiation and interaction. They formulate the following question: is it possible to reach a regional articulation of the trade unions able to influence the evolution process of Mercosul, in such a way that it guarantees or widens the workers’ interests? As far as methodology is concerned, the authors present the leaders’ perceptions of the main brazilian and argentinian trade unions, according to interviews done at the end of 1998 and beginning of 1999. The authors concluded that although the trade unions have different origins, backgrounds and political or ideological positions, they manage to keep a unified and well structure position during the Mercosul negotiations, which may become the basis to a supranational syndical culture. The trade unions decided for a wider negotiation position, aggrieving the confrontation or mere criticism. Even being mainly motivated by national interests, the economic regional integration of the southern countries of South America propiciate the beginning of the implementation of trade unions practices into the region.

"The shadows of no man's land" : crossing the border in the divided capital of Nicosia, Cyprus

Abstract. In May 2004, only Greek Cyprus joined the European Union. The EU did not negotiate with Northern Cyprus as the Greek Cypriot government is acknowledged as sole representative of Cyprus. Despite this, after more than two years of EU membership, the Republic of Cyprus is seen in a positive light by the people of Northern Cyprus. Through the grey zone of the acquis communautaire, north Nicosia and Cyprus profit from European modernisation and the common market. Although the northern part of the island is still often labelled as «occupied territory», in the light of recent European developments. Nicosia, and with it Cyprus, seem to no longer be solely defined by their Green Line. This grey, self-created Option means that the EU has indeed had a significant effect on the «Cyprus issue». For the Greek Cypriot authorities, their hoped-for advantage of a stronger negotiation position in Europe did not turn out as expected. For the north, their fragile socio-economic structures appear to have benefited from the common market with the Republic of Cyprus. Despite the current partitioning of Nicosia, this city may therefore be understood today as a unique example of urban osmosis.The conclusion is made that both the long-term impact of the new osmosis which is taking place at street level in the city of Nicosia, and the city's capacity for co-optation and resistance, should be assessed and perceived not in the form of traditional geopolitical narratives, but in a form more sensitive to its complex context.

Regional integration and health policies

This supplement has resulted from the MERCOSUR Forum on Regional Integration and Health Systems, organized by the Network for Health Systems and Services Research in the Southerrn Cone of Latin America in March 2006 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The regional integration issue has been increasingly present on the economic and political agenda of Latin American countries, since in a context of asymmetrical globalization the continent’s sub-regions have attempted to strengthen their ties in order to gain a more favorable position in international negotiations. Thus, they not only change the rules of the trade game, but also produce social changes, including those related to health policies and the right to health care.

A comparison of auditor and client initial negotiation positions and tactics

This study examines the initial negotiation positions and tactics of auditors and clients facing a revenue recognition conflict. We investigate the degree of flexibility in auditor and client initial negotiation positions, whether auditors and clients accurately perceive the other party’s positions, and the types of negotiation tactics that may be used by both parties. The results indicate that auditors and clients approach conflict resolution in very different ways. Clients were more flexible, determined the auditor’s goals and limits more accurately, and were more likely to use negotiation tactics such as bid high/concede later and trade-off one reporting issue for another. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Fairness in International Trade Negotiations: Developing Countries in the GATT and WTO

Does fairness matter in the hard bargaining and horse‐trading that is associated with trade negotiations? This paper presents a positivist analysis of the particular concepts of fairness that developing countries have appealed to in their trade negotiations within the auspices of the GATT and WTO, how these notions have evolved, and the impact that they have had on negotiated outcomes. Treating the concept of fairness as my central dependent variable, I argue that the notion of fairness can only be understood in terms of the institutional context it is embedded in, which includes institutional structure as well as the participatory processes that underlie it. I advance three hypotheses on the relationship between institutional context: the fairness discourse, and the influence and manoeuvre that member countries can have in shaping that discourse. Focusing on the role of fairness in the negotiation positions of developing countries, I explain its substance and evolution through learning and adaptation by these countries within the very particular institutions of the GATT and the WTO, and the coalitions they form a part of and interact within.

Motives to patent: Empirical evidence from Germany

Against the background of the patent upsurge, we first analyse the role of patenting and alternative instruments to protect intellectual property, based on a sample of German companies active in patenting. In a second step, we investigate the motives to patent, considering sector and company size effects. We find that company size matters, both for the importance of instruments and the motives to patent. Especially important are the new strategic motives to patent, like using patents to improve a company's own position in negotiations with partners, licensees and the financial sector, or to use patents as incentives for R&D personnel or performance indicators—these correlate positively with company size. We derive some possible challenges for future patent policies from these insights.

The negotiation position amid member states of the EU

The European integration process is very important and it has been paid attention to for the last 15 years. The abstract deals with the negotiation field and position in the structure of the current expanded EU. For better orientation in this equivocal situation, a modern cartography method of relationship in the arbitrary group called dynamic sociometry was used. The method is based on classical sociometry Morena and furthermore it uses the instrument of fuzzy set, typology and structural analysis. The output of this method is a sociomap. The map holds information on the relative closeness or the distance of individual elements, their configuration but also some quality information. The graphic chart is similar to a topographic map. In our case, the sociomap was created from the data of foreign business among the member countries. The following analysis of the sociomap we detected and described characteristic features of the analysed group. It consists of formal and informal links in the group, the role and the position of each member within the group, the structure and relations in the group. In the concrete, we attained data to answer the questions about the present climate in interrelationships in the EU, which means the relationships among the members as the whole entities but also the relationships separately among members themselves. The position analysis of the Czech Republic in the system of the created sociomaps was considered as very important. According to the allocation of the Czech Republic in sociomaps, we easily defined the position of the state, the closest partners for negotiation, and also the possible problem relations which might complicate the negotiation in the EU. From the resultant sociomaps, we also tried to determine the sociometric star, i.e. the leader of the European Community. We anticipated that it would be rather an aggregation of several states than an individual state. The contribution focuses on the negotiation field and position in the structure of the current expanded EU. The sociomap created using foreign business data of member states gives the bases for answering questions about present climate in interrelationships in the EU which means the relationships between the members as whole entities but also the relationships separately between the members themselves.

Budget negotiations in multi-period settings

Budgets are typically set through a negotiation process that is repeated in successive periods, often between the same superior and subordinate. Despite this, little is known about budget negotiations in multi-period settings. Temporal interdependence is a fundamental aspect of budget negotiations in multi-period settings, and it refers to the fact that in multi-period budget settings, superiors’ (subordinates’) decisions and actions in one period can be influenced by subordinates’ (superiors’) decisions and actions in earlier periods and, in turn, can influence subordinates’ (superiors’) decisions and actions in later periods. We report the results of an experiment that addresses two issues related to temporal interdependence. The first issue we examine is the effect of an expectation of future budget negotiations with the same individual on current period negotiation strategies and outcomes. Consistent with our expectations, our results indicate that superiors and subordinates who expect future budget negotiations act more cooperatively. For example, when superiors and subordinates expect future budget negotiations, they are more likely to reach agreement on a budget and subordinate performance is higher. The second issue focuses on a multi-period setting with repeated budget negotiations between the same individuals. We examine the pattern of negotiation outcomes across periods to assess the effect of prior budget outcomes on current period negotiation strategies and outcomes. Our results indicate that in this setting, superiors and subordinates react to negotiation strategies and outcomes from prior periods in predictable ways. For example, once a particular superior and subordinate reached agreement, they were more likely to continue to reach agreement in future periods. In addition, superiors’ initial negotiation positions across periods and the budget levels across periods were consistent with superiors using subordinate performance in the prior period to update their beliefs about subordinate performance capability. One implication of our results is that some issues identified in prior, single-period budgeting research do not generalize to the multi-period setting where there is temporal interdependence.

Bilateral and Regional Free Trade Agreements, and Their Relationship with the WTO and the Doha Development Agenda

The Doha Round differs from previous multilateral rounds since a number of participating countries are negotiating and implementing bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) at the same time as they are negotiating multilaterally. The standard arguments against FTAs involve that they create trade diversion, are difficult to administrate, involve complex rules of origin that impost added costs on firms, and attract the attention and political capital of policy makers away from the multilateral negotiation. This paper poses other arguments about FTAs being beneficial to the multilateral process. For instance, they have allowed some countries to achieve zero tariffs with all their main trading partners, and therefore a large majority of their trade, and often involve reforms in sensitive issues that, once undertaken, allow governments to assume a more offensive position at the WTO. Most importantly, by creating trade diversion away from countries that act as laggards in all negotiation fronts, they generate the competitive pressure that can move those nations to assume a more constructive position in the multilateral negotiations; also, it may be easier to harmonize existing FTAs than to seek comprehensive plurilateral and multilateral agreements from scratch. Beyond the discussion of whether FTAs help or hinder multilateral progress, the paper discusses changes in the multilateral rules, and best practices in bilateral negotiations, that can help make both fronts better complements. The issues mentioned include guidelines among rules of origin, origin accumulation, harmonization of standing agreements, bilateral trade facilitation and solutions to preference erosion. Alberto Trejos is a Professor at INCAE in Costa Rica. From 1994-1998, he was Dean of INCAE, and General Director of its Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development from 1999-2002. He was a professor in the Economics Department of Northwestern University from 1994-98. He has also been a visiting professor and researcher at the Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica de Barcelona, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Fundaçao Getulio Vargas of Rio de Janeiro, and the University of Texas. As Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica in 2002-04, he was responsible for the negotiation of CAFTA and of the CARICOM-Costa Rica FTA. He was in charge of Costa Rica´s ratification of its FTA with Canada and its entry into the Central American Customs Union. Trejos is a consultant for several companies, governments, and international organizations, President of CINDE (Costa Rican Investment Board), and a board member of several corporations and organizations. He has published extensively in leading journals, and he has been a National Science Foundation grantee and a Fulbright scholar. He received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

Credit Derivatives and Sovereign Debt Crises

Credit derivatives allow for buying protection on corporate debt, but also on sovereign debt. In this paper we examine the implications for sovereign debt crises. We show that the availability of credit protection lowers ex-ante debtor moral hazard by allowing a bondholder to improve his bargaining position in negotiations with the sovereign, thus forcing the sovereign to internalize more of the costs of a crisis. When bondholders use credit protection strategically, we additionally find that credit derivatives do not hinder an efficient resolution of crises. Crisis resolution may even be improved by facilitating conditionality. When protection is not chosen strategically, however, credit protection may also be detrimental to crisis resolution by making restructuring more difficult. In either case we identify a role for government policy as bondholders' choice of protection is not necessarily socially efficient.

Workers' involvement in the European Company — the SE Guidelines of the European Metalworkers Federation

In June 2003 the Executive Committee of the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) adopted guidelines for negotiations on the introduction of a European Company (SE) under the European Company Statute. These guidelines are binding on EMF-affiliated trade unions. The guidelines set out a common understanding and political decisions reached within the EMF with regard to the European Company Statute, and, more specifically, the information, consultation and participation rights of workers in an SE. These rights involve the possible participation of workers' representatives and/or trade union representatives in the boards of directors or supervisory boards of SEs. The development of these guidelines was not an easy exercise for the EMF because of national differences on this issue, in particular with regard to participation rights. However, the process was necessary in order to be able to have a common European trade union position in any future negotiations with companies seeking to become an SE.

WTO Agriculture Negotiations and South Asian Countries

As mandated by Article XX of the Uruguay Round, negotiations for next round of the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) began in 1999 and are now in an advanced stage. It is quite important now for South Asian countries (SACs) to join hands based on mutual interest and geographic considerations, and push a common agenda in the negotiations on the AOA. These countries have a lot in common in their economic situation, agricultural concerns and interest in the global market. Taking a common position in the negotiations will increase the bargaining strength of SACs and help in getting better deal for the region. The South Asian agenda for a new round of negotiations on agriculture in the WTO needs to be somewhat offensive. The popular opinion in SACs is such that any deal that secures freedom from commitment and provides protection against imports is a great achievement. In a liberalized economy, protection and freedom from commitment granted to other countries is equally, and sometimes more, important. Sometimes it is beneficial to go for a trade-off between, say, making a commitment to reduce subsidies and reducing protection in own market if it results in enough gain in market access in other countries. South Asian agriculture has some strength and SACs need not be extremely defensive and inward looking. This paper suggests a common agenda for SACs for genuine protection of the domestic market and to take advantage of the external one.

Tariff Preferences, WTO Negotiations and the LDCs: The Case of the ‘Everything But Arms’ Initiative

By assessing the impact of the recently adopted ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) initiative of the EU on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and by showing how further multilateral trade liberalisations erode the EBA preferences and impact the LDCs, this paper attempts to uncover the LDCs’ difficult positions in the WTO trade negotiations. Due to its limited product coverage and previous preferences granted by the EU, welfare impacts of the EBA on the LDCs are shown to be small and the bulk of these gains are associated with the ‘sensitive’ products that are subject to gradual liberalisations. Moreover, these small gains are likely to disappear if the EU conducts trade policy reforms in fulfilling its WTO obligations, resulting in an actually worse‐off situation for the LDCs. Extending the analysis to a multilateral trade liberalisation scenario reinforces the above results that the LDCs may well lose due to preference erosion and higher world market prices. It concludes that other development assistance measures from developed countries should be made available to the LDCs to ease their dependency on trade preferences and to foster their supply capacities. The LDCs themselves should attempt to integrate the duty and quota‐free market access status contained in the EBA into a binding WTO agreement to secure a stable trading environment. But more importantly, in order to solve the difficulties at the root these countries should actively engage in reforming their own trade policies.

The Legal Status of Jerusalem Following the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Separation Barrier

The present article analyzes the expected implications of the recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal status of East Jerusalem in accordance with international law. The Court stated that East Jerusalem is occupied territory and Israel is the occupying power in this territory. Generally, the Opinion lends support to the Palestinians' arguments and is likely to enhance their bargaining position in the future negotiations regarding the regime to be applied to East Jerusalem. Unlike the differential approach undertaken by the parties during the recent stage of negotiations (that suggested applying different legal regimes to the city's different areas), the Court's Opinion did not make distinction between the different parts of East Jerusalem. Analysis of these distinct approaches indicates that the differential approach (adopted during the recent negotiations)is more likely to enhance the prospects of attaining an agreed solution to the dispute over East Jerusalem. The Court's emphasis on the interests of third parties as well as the role of the UN tends to multilateralize the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians regarding the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The impacts of possible multilateralization of the dispute over East Jerusalem on the prospects of achieving an agreed solution are not clear. In contrast to the Court's multilateral approach with regard to the general Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the analysis of Israel's obligation regarding access to the holy places is essentially premised on two bilateral treaties (the 1949 General Armistice Agreement and the 1994 Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan). In light of the major importance of numerous holy places in other parts of the globe, a preferable legal analysis could have been founded on a reasonable interpretation of general international human rights instruments, particularly the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Auditor Negotiations: An Examination of the Efficacy of Intervention Methods

Negotiations are a pervasive feature of the audit process (e.g., the resolution of proposed audit adjustments and disclosures). The results of such negotiations are of great importance to the capital markets, the client, and the auditor. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of three promising, pragmatic intervention methods for enhancing auditor negotiation performance: a role-playing intervention—assuming the client's position in a mock negotiation; a passive intervention—explicitly considering the client's interests and options; and a practice intervention—engaging in a mock negotiation prior to the client negotiation. We posit that the role-playing intervention will improve negotiation results, because this approach requires direct experience in considering and arguing the client's position and more cognitive effort in obtaining an understanding of the counterpart's position, a critical factor identified in the negotiation literature for successful performance.Forty-five audit managers and partners were provided a realistic case based on an actual scenario involving the potential writedown of inventory due to obsolescence. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (role-playing, passive, or practice) and asked to negotiate the issue with a confederate playing the role of the CFO. Auditor conservatism and a large actual subsequent writedown suggest that a significant adjustment is warranted. The results indicate that the role-playing intervention method led to an enhanced negotiation outcome (greater writedown) compared to the passive and practice groups. Process improvements on a number of dimensions were also found, particularly for the role-playing group compared to the practice group.