Reform Proposals Research Articles

Reforming the IMF Surcharge Rate Policy to Avoid Procyclical Lending

Abstract The International Monetary Fund (IMF) levies ‘surcharges’ or extra fees beyond the normal borrowing costs on member countries that either draw “sufficiently large” amounts of IMF credit to mitigate balance of payments constraints, or that maintain their credit exposure with the institution for “sufficiently long” periods of time. Such surcharges have become increasingly important: 10 countries paid surcharges in 2020. Now, 22 countries are subject to IMF surcharges, and revenues from surcharges between 2020 and 2023 have reached about $6.4 billion, just as countries are struggling to recover from their balance of payments issues amidst multiple shocks, such as COVID-19, climate change, war, and advanced economy interest rate changes. Reportedly designed to discourage the overuse of Fund resources and to ensure the financial soundness of the IMF’s own balance sheet, in recent years surcharges have come under scrutiny for two reasons. First, such surcharges are inherently pro-cyclical as they increase the burden of debt payments at exactly the time when a member country needs counter-cyclical and low-cost financing, contravening the very rationale of the IMF. Secondly, IMF surcharges have now become among the largest sources of revenue for the IMF, creating a perverse situation whereby the most economically disadvantaged member countries are a major source of income for Fund operations. This paper reviews the rationale for IMF surcharges, evaluates their impacts on member country economies and on the IMF business model, and presents and evaluates various proposals for IMF surcharge reform.

Clinical trials of drugs: Current state of the regulatory problem and proposals for reform

Not available.

Revisiting the Debates on the 2010 Constitutional Referendum in Turkey: Democratic Transition or Authoritarian Populism?

This article revisits the scholarly debates on the AKP’s constitutional amendment package that was put to vote in the 2010 Constitutional Referendum. It takes the democratic theorist Andrew Arato and constitutional scholar Aslı Bali as major representatives of the two opposing views on the political implications of the reform proposal. It compares and contrasts their arguments particularly in light of their different assessments of the amendments which concern the restructuring of the judiciary, especially the Turkish Constitutional Court. It argues that their fundamental controversy with regard to the democratic or authoritarian nature of these amendments is rooted in the contrast between Bali’s predominantly contextual and Arato’s predominantly global approach. While Bali affirms the reform proposal as a democratic step forward in transcending the persistent legacy of the Kemalist authoritarian “tutelary” regime represented by the Constitutional Court, Arato interprets it as a manifestation of the global populist-authoritarian retreat that is expresses itself most visibly through assaults against the independent judiciary. After a critical reading of these two approaches, this paper finalizes by way of introducing a new framework that would counterbalance the contextual with the global and vice versa that would arguably provide a new perspective through which one could unveil the particular characteristics of the AKP’s populist constitutional politics at the time of the Referendum.

Legal Reforms Addressing Sexual Harassment in India: Examining the Role of Women’s Dress as a Contributing Factor

Women's clothing choice is mainly used as a reason for violence against them. The socially constructed aggression toward women is made to fit into the role the woman might be perceived to have in an attack. This shifts part of the responsibility for this violation onto the victim and the perpetrator. This paper discusses how the concept of "choice of dress" has emerged as one of the factors contributing to sexual violence against women. This paper discusses public opinion on this issue and attempts to enter into the perception that women's attire is being used as a justification for violating their rights. This paper has proceeded to analyze the role of law in preventing sexual harassment and considers public opinions on the possible introduction of legal regulations concerning women's dress codes, together with the probable impact such regulations may have on women's self-esteem. This research is based on both primary (convenient sampling and analysis through SPSS software) and secondary sources (books, articles, reports, legal commentaries, and case laws) dealing with sexual harassment laws. It attempts to provide reform proposals that shift attention away from women's clothing and instead focus on accountability on the part of the perpetrators in legal frameworks.

The narrative that should guide applied behavioural science

Abstract This article serves as a commentary on Michael Hallsworth's 2023 piece, ‘A manifesto for applying behavioural science,’ featured in Nature Human Behaviour. The manifesto was prompted by methodological, practical and normative critiques directed at behavioural science and its role in public policy. In this commentary, I argue that the manifesto presents numerous insightful and constructive reform proposals regarding the scope, methods and values in behavioural science, which can help advance the field of behavioural public policy. While there is much to agree with, I contend in this commentary that applied behavioural science can and should delve deeper into the study of socially and culturally embedded processes of goal formation. Additionally, it should explore the institutional conditions necessary for individuals to formulate their goals competently and in a self-determined manner.

Вещно-правовые механизмы регулирования соседских отношений

The author analyses adjoining landowners rights regulation within in rem legal framework. Adjoining landowners rights and obligations, reciprocal by default, publicly establish the limits of landowner’s right in use of his property. Landownership law regulation considered to be necessary in every legal system desiring to regulate relations in the sphere of property ownership and Russian legal system, still lacking this legal mechanism, is not an exclusion. In addition to the adjoining landowners rights per se, the article explores related legal mechanisms that allow adjoining property owners to change established limits of the legally protected ownership rights by means of private agreements, changing the volume of their rights, or even waiving of them. It is shown that private servitude can be the only legally appropriate mechanism solidifying the change in the volume of property rights. Thus, improving the regulation of adjoining landowners rights in the domestic legal system requires reconsidering role of the servitude law, its further development on the basis of more developed legal systems’ experience. That also means a return to Russian pre-revolutionary legal roots and reestablishment of legal mechanisms known from that times. The purpose of the study is to put forward proposals for a comprehensive reformation of adjoining landowners rights regulation.

Der Reformvorschlag einer preisindexierten Dynamisierung der Rente

Abstract This article deals with the financing problems of statutory pension insurance in Germany, which are primarily the result of demographic changes in the population. It discusses the reform proposal of a price-indexed dynamisation of pensions and highlights the economic considerations and political ideas underlying the current linking of pensions to wage trends. The advantages and disadvantages of an alternative link to price trends are discussed. Furthermore, the reform proposal of a differentiated pension adjustment is critically examined. Differentiated adjustments are usually intended to protect only particularly vulnerable pensioners from high inflation.

Tax Reforms and the Decline of the London Stock Market: The Untold Story

234 Various reasons have been put forward for the declining global relevance of the London equity market. Reform proposals and changes already implemented target some of the major problems identified as reasons for the stock market’s decline. Surprisingly, tax related explanations for the current state of the UK stock market are largely absent from the discourse. This paper argues that the preferential tax treatment of the dividend income of UK pension funds and insurance companies introduced in the early 1970s and repealed in the mid 1990s first contributed to the UK stock market’s growth by implicitly subsidising financing via equity and encouraging the flow of the funds of these investors into the market, and subsequently led to the market’s decline as a result of the outflow of the funds of the two major classes of institutional investors: UK pension funds and insurance companies. The key implication of this argument is that omitting tax as a major factor in the decline of the UK stock market risks ending up with reforms that can, at best, do little to change the current situation.

Redistributive effects of tax-benefit policies in the EU. Simulation of reform proposals

AbstractInequality is one of the main current economic problems, affecting not just developing countries, but also major developed economies. Although inequality is generated by differences in market income, the public sector plays a key role in reducing it through the redistributive effect of the tax-benefit system. The first objective of this article is to understand and analyse the redistributive effect of tax-benefit systems in EU countries using the EUROMOD microsimulation model. The main result attained is the enormous redistributive impact of tax-benefit systems in all EU countries, reducing inequality by more than 20 percentage points. From the analysis of the different types of policies and countries it is possible to attain diverse patterns of behaviour by groups of countries and the best cases in terms of redistributive effect. Following this analysis of all EU countries, improvement measures are proposed for the specific case of one country, Spain. Three reforms that could improve the final income distribution of Spanish households are proposed: reforms in family policy, social exclusion and social security contributions. The three proposed reforms, based on policies used in other European countries, would have a significant cost, but would also achieve a much greater redistributive effect.

Failures of the Korean Broadcasting Standards System and Constitutional Reform Proposals

Failures of the Korean Broadcasting Standards System and Constitutional Reform Proposals

To Reform the Child Protection System in Portugal—Stakeholders’ Positions

Notwithstanding the legal milestones observed in the Portuguese child protection system (CPS), several concerns call for political action to ensure the effective guarantee of children’s rights. In this context, it is imperative to discuss proposals for reforming the CPS. Agreement on these proposals by the stakeholders in the system is key to validating and improving the system. Therefore, the main research questions of the present study are (1) what is the level of agreement among stakeholders in the CPS on certain proposals for child protection reform? and (2) what are the positions on those proposals? Mixed methods were conducted based on an online survey (n = 292), supported by Qualtrics, and eight focus groups involving stakeholders as former beneficiaries, families, practitioners and academics (n = 18). Findings show a harmonious alignment with the proposals, justifying an urgent reform of the CPS and the need to strengthen a child-centred system. Three themes emerged: promotion of quality family-based care and promotion of adoption; development of child-friendly terminology; and improvement of the CPS administration. The conclusions highlight implications for policy and practice.

Infrastructures of support: Australian young people’s perspectives on caring during the pandemic and future disability and care policy reform

ABSTRACT Today’s young people are critical stakeholders in the future of social care policy and services, but their voices and perspectives are often overlooked in public debate and deliberation on disability services, aged care, and support for family carers. This article reports on a pilot project involving focus groups with young people in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Participants included young people with caring roles for family members with disability and chronic illness and young people without lived experience of disability or care. The article explores how young people’s understandings of care were profoundly shaped by their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns, health concerns and media coverage heightened their awareness of the diverse ways in which people support each other in families and communities and the systemic issues afflicting the formal care sector. The article draws on the concept of care as critical social and economic infrastructure to frame participants’ proposals for future reform of policy and services. The findings indicate that young people both with and without current care roles want to see significantly more investment in the care and support sectors, and these groups view meaningful engagement with service users as key to improving access to needed supports.

Reform proposal "Occasional surgical oncology" : Medical strategic analysis and ramifications of the draft bill within the framework of the Hospital Treatment Improvement Act (KHVVG) from the perspective of a university hospital

Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in Germany. Performance management and specialization concepts in medicine have the potential to positively influence the care and chances of survival of patients. From the perspective of the University Hospital Freiburg (UKF), the legislative initiative within the framework of the Hospital Treatment Improvement Act (KHVVG) results in anumber of medical strategic implications. This article explains and discusses the background, objectives and contents of the reform project "Occasional surgical oncology" and provides perspectives on strategic fields of action. Analysis and interpretation of the draft of the Act for improvement of the treatment quality in hospitals and on the reform of the remuneration structures (Federal Government draft act). From the point of view of the UKF hospitals should engage in cooperative discussions with neighboring hospitals at the earliest opportunity to shape regional healthcare with the goals of mapping the local allocation of oncology patients for optimal treatment, mitigating the loss of patients at affected locations and preparing for patient growth at facilities that will continue to provide treatment in surgical oncology. The ongoing legislative process and the fact that areliable analysis of relevant treatment areas will be possible for hospitals in the first half of 2025, presents particular challenges for hospitals and the strategic planning of activities. The gaps in the bill presented in this article should be urgently addressed to avoid undermining the project's goals and to support the hospitals remaining in the healthcare system in their preparations.

Economics Peer-Review: Problems, Recent Developments, and Reform Proposals

This article contributes to the debate on reforming the peer-review process in the economics profession. It examines the current state of peer-review in economics, surveys the relevant literature, and identifies several problems and solutions. Problems to be discussed are referee overreach and excessive revisions, strategic refereeing and conflicts of interest, prestige bias and other discrimination, and the noisy outcome of peer-review. It recommends several solutions for reform. First, enforce referee guidelines that referee reports must explicitly separate their suggestions into essential and optional, with 3 essential maximum. Second, let authors award the best referee report. Third, adopt conflict of interest policies for referees and punish non-disclosure. Fourth, use double-blind refereeing. Fifth, make better use of prior reports from other journals. Sixth, pay referees for prompt reports. A discussion of the role of editors highlights additional issues that deserve a debate in the profession.

Designing a Billionaire's Tax

With ProPublica’s dramatic revelation in 2021 of the low “true tax rates” of America’s billionaires serving as a catalyst, the exclusion of unrealized gains from the base of the federal income tax has been challenged to an extent unprecedented in the century-plus history of the tax. In late 2021, a proposal by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D, OR) to tax billionaires’ unrealized gains in tradable assets might have become law, but for the opposition of Senator Joe Manchin (D, WV). And in early 2022, the Treasury Department of President Joe Biden included a minimum tax on the unrealized gains of the ultrarich in its tax reform proposals. A narrower reform, taxing billionaires who borrow against unrealized appreciation to finance lavish consumption expenditures, has also been urged. All three of these proposed reforms—but especially the first two—would transform the fundamental character of the income tax as applied to the wealthiest Americans. This Article describes the three approaches, considers design challenges under each and evaluates their relative merits.

Value Added Tax on Financial Services in the EU: The Complete Story

The paper provides an extensive overview of the VAT exemption of financial services in the EU. The topic is surrounded by conceptual and practical challenges. The main issues are presented in a retrospective plan. They have been clearly defined and discussed since the very inception of the EU VAT system. The difficulties this tax regime is faced with today reveal the logical sequence that can be traced as far back as the 1970s. In its first part, the paper looks at the topic from a historical perspective, exploring the inclusion of financial services within the scope of the first VAT rules. Further insight is subsequently provided on the application of the VAT exemption over the past decades until the present-day rules. At its core, the text relies mostly upon the CJEU case law. Capital issues for VAT fiscal neutrality are also given careful consideration. This is the major concern inspiring the Commission’s attempts and proposals for VAT reforms. After a concise examination of the efforts to revise the legislation, the paper focuses on the most recent developments in the financial industry, which is a major stakeholder concerned by the recent aspirations of Brussels.

Escaping ‘Groundhog Day’: the transformative possibilities of reconceptualising audit

The statutory company audit can be a puzzling phenomenon. While heralded as a public interested function, its resulting audit reports are only addressed to the members of the audited company. Audit may be widely acknowledged as a social construction, but it has remained conceptually static, with a recycling of reform proposals and a resulting, persistent audit expectations gap. Recent responses to this state of affairs, however, have included calls for a ‘dynamic repair’ of audit and an official proposal by the Brydon review for the UK government to give legislative backing to a significantly expanded purpose for audit. This paper further advances such proposals by illuminating the transformative possibilities of conceptualising audit as an innovation ecosystem in its own right and classifying auditors as ecosystem engineers. Collectively, such a conceptual reconfiguration can serve to enhance both the social purposefulness of audit and its public interested sense of professionalism by freeing audit from the constraints of excessive standardisation and promoting its inherent, functional diversity.

Policy Forum: The Registered Charity Appeals Process—More Reasons (and a Few Proposals) for Reform

Policy Forum: The Registered Charity Appeals Process—More Reasons (and a Few Proposals) for Reform

THE (IN)EFFECTIVENESS OF REQUIRING PRIOR EXHAUSTION OF LOCAL REMEDIES IN INVESTMENT ARBITRATION

The international investment-law regime continues to be mired in a legitimacy crisis that has given rise to important multilateral reform efforts through the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. A key reform proposal is centred on the introduction of an exhaustion-of-local-remedies requirement. This article critically evaluates the exhaustion-of-local-remedies rule in the context of international investment law, and challenges its interpretation where such clauses already exist in contemporary investment law. The article concludes that investment tribunals have subverted these clauses in various ways, and considers the legal challenges states would need to address to best prevent the subversion of these clauses by investment tribunals in future.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s Influence on French Revolutionary Educational Reform

ABSTRACT When Mary Wollstonecraft travelled to Paris in December 1792, she was already well-known there as a republican writer, and a defender of women’s rights, particularly to education. Her philosophy of education was very closely tied to her republican beliefs – to educate a child in the right way was to preserve her from domination. In Paris, Wollstonecraft became friends with several famous Girondins, including Madame Roland and Jacques-Pierre Brissot. She was asked to participate in the drafting of Nicolas de Condorcet's report on the reform of education. Condorcet was himself an early proponent of women's rights in France and unlike his predecessor, Talleyrand, he did not want to leave women out from French educational reforms. Although her notes on this report did not survive, I argue that Wollstonecraft did in fact influence French educational reforms. Looking at the reception of Wollstonecraft's work among the Girondins, and Condorcet's early drafts of the reform proposal, I argue that Wollstonecraft's legacy in the final years of the Revolution can be traced in particular to the 1795 Loi Daunou and its corresponding report, by Joseph Lakanal, on girls’ primary education.