Regulation In Britain Research Articles

From OSH regulation to safety results: Using behavioral insights and a “supply chain” approach to improve outcomes – The experience of the health and safety Executive

This paper considers briefly theoretical foundations of the links between regulation, “regulatory delivery” and compliance, and then a case study of construction safety regulation in Britain, and comparative data on occupational safety inspections and outcomes in Britain, Germany and France (European Union member states with generally comparable OSH regulations but very different regulatory delivery). It studies the use of behavioral approaches by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Great Britain, where engagement with regulated entities, managers, workers and other stakeholders to improve OSH is central. It provides a brief analysis of how approaches to regulatory delivery based on behavioral insights can result in greater efficiency, increased compliance and more positive public outcomes. These approaches differ from a traditional “deterrence-based” conception of regulatory enforcement limited to finding and punishing violations. Evidence suggests that such behavior-focused regulatory delivery can be both more efficient and more effective.

Amplified British Aviation Authority in Africa, 1947–1960: Regulation of Low-cost Overseas Airlines

ABSTRACT Britain first exerted considerable civil and military aerial authority in Africa in the 1920s and 1930s. The occasional but striking presence of British pioneer pilots and aircraft was soon followed by formal agreements about Empire airbases, and operation of imperial airline service. During the Second World War, all British aviation resources in Africa were tailored to mobilising and executing military action. At the end of the War, Britain’s nationalised airline resumed scheduled commercial services to and from Africa. In the post-War Commonwealth there was demand for air services at lower prices than Britain’s flag-carrying airline offered. Private charter airlines provided long-haul but low-cost ‘trooping’ flights, ‘colonial coach’ passenger flights, and ‘tramp’ cargo flights, and consolidated and extended British aerial presence and influence in Africa. Mostly, London set and managed the regulatory regime under which they operated. Coloniality provided a key licensing element. In the 1950s, before widespread decolonisation, the authority for the least expensive long-haul flying across Africa vested in layers of complex regulation in Britain.

State Policy and Employment Regulation in Britain: An Historical Perspective

Waged work in Britain is being transformed: permanent full-time jobs decline as precarious irregular task-based employment increases. This development is actively supported by government policy (labour market deregulation, the promotion of ‘flexibility’), to promote work as the sole route out of poverty. Using historical evidence, this article argues that, on the contrary, irregular employment was for long understood as a primary cause of poverty, not its cure. It thus generates high levels of social dependency. The UK’s earliest labour market policies sought to eradicate casual work and to encourage permanent employment – policies promoted assiduously for most of the twentieth century. Current governments are recreating the labour markets of the late nineteenth century, the conditions that stimulated state intervention in the first place. Three salient points arise. First, irregular employment exacerbates widening social inequalities. Second, it damages public trust. Employers evade employment obligations for task-based workers while state regulations require job-seekers to take on this work. Third, multiple job-holding and unstable employment destroys labour market categories on which policy analysis and the law rely. Legal frameworks governing employment rights are weakened and public understanding of labour markets is undermined.

Law and Finance in Emerging Economies: Germany and Britain 1800–1913

By most standards, Britain in the 19th century was the world's leading financial nation, with more developed capital markets than any other country. An influential view in the law and finance literature argues that, holding macroeconomic factors constant, the different financial development can be attributed to more stringent disclosure regulation in Britain. Presenting a granular analysis of regulatory reform in Britain and Germany, this article shows that the level of disclosure regulation was largely comparable in both countries during the relevant period and that reform initiatives were not an exogenous stimulus of financial development, but evolved incrementally in response to changing market conditions. On the other hand, the legal regime governing the formation of stock corporations developed in diametrically opposed directions in the two countries as a result of concerted efforts by policy makers to change market conditions. The article argues that these rules, which were relevant to organisational choice and the availability of different sources of financing, stand out as the most striking difference between Germany and the UK.

The Irish Stage: A Legal History by W. N. Osborough

Reviewed by: The Irish Stage: A Legal History by W. N. Osborough Deirdre Oleary THE IRISH STAGE: A LEGAL HISTORY. By W. N. Osborough. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2015; pp. 352. As he opens his The Irish Stage: A Legal History, W. N. Osborough is quick to concede that the study of the history of the Irish theatre is itself a rich and varied genre, and the justification for another work on the subject might not be immediately obvious. But his ambitious and extensively detailed survey and analysis of the legal applications, patents, transfers of ownership, laws, and codicils surrounding Irish theatre from the seventeenth to the late twentieth century are distinctive in their focus. While other Irish theatre scholars, notably Christopher Morasch, John Harrington, and Eamonn Jordan, have examined Irish theatrical history primarily chronologically and through the lens of dramaturgical analysis, Osborough largely omits a consideration of dramatic literature from his study. Instead, he provides exhaustive documentation on changes in theatre patents, reviews of privy councils, newspaper accounts, political pamphlets, acts of Parliament, and so on to further contextualize the evolution of theatre in Ireland as inextricably tied to Irish law. While other Irish theatre texts may focus on the entertainments and dramatic offerings as reflecting the evolving Irish national character and cultural interests of the people, Osborough examines the legal maneuvers and political acts that exercised limitations on the types of performances allowed at various theatres, and considers how these limitations influenced the development of particular genres and entertainments. The book is largely geared to Irish theatre scholars and legal scholars and provides valuable contributions to the extensive body of Irish theatre scholarship. The Irish Stage is organized chronologically across fifteen chapters, beginning with the creation in 1638 of the office of the Master of the Revels in Ireland. The original Master of the Revels, James Ogilby, and his successors are the focus of much of chapter 1, as they individually navigate the nascent Irish theatre landscape (exclusively concentrated in Dublin) against the changing political climate of Britain. Osborough notes the changes in theatrical patents, the theatrical threat posed by an emboldened Sir William Davenant and Sir Thomas Killigrew in London in 1660, and the ever-changing occupiers and owners of Ireland's original theatre, Smock Alley. This chapter is followed by an examination of the theatrical regulation in Britain from the early eighteenth century to the middle of the nineteenth. Some theatre scholars might rightly contest the choice of relying heavily (as Osborough does) upon British theatre historical practice (which was far larger, catered to a more diverse audience, and had significant legal and organizational differences) to document the Irish theatre. To that point, Osborough argues that Ireland's patents, theatrical structure, and legal oversight are informed and shaped by British theatrical practice, and that the Irish law surrounding theatre is best understood with sufficient description of British theatrical precedent. Where there are differences—for example, the lack of a Lord Chamberlain for Ireland—they are extensively documented. The next three chapters focus on the Dublin Stage Regulation Act, first introduced in 1779 by Thomas Sheridan as a thinly veiled attempt to preserve his theatrical monopoly in Dublin, passed by Parliament in 1785, and vigorously challenged by the Dublin Corporation the same year. Osborough details the debates in the House of Commons and the petitions filed in opposition to the act, which focused on the discrepancy in fees for putting on a play in an unlicensed theatre (£300 in Ireland, compared with £100 in Britain). Chapters 6-7 consider performances in Britain that were regulated under the Act of 1737 and the often creative means by which producers and managers sought to skirt the definitions of what constituted a regulated performance, in accordance with the act. These include the various attempts by managers to have their performances categorized as other forms of entertainment, as well as oftentimes ingenious staging methods employed to escape classification as a "stage play." Osborough notes as example the court case of Day v. Simpson, about an 1865 production of Pepper's Ghost by James Day that was performed "from a chamber below the stage—a complicated pattern of lenses and mirrors being...

How many lightbulbs does it take to change the financial system? Economic ideas and financial regulation, 1846–2007

Ideas may impact economic policy change, but their specific effects are difficult to untangle. Material factors may influence both ideational change and policy change. In order to study these complex interrelationships, this article looks at the impact of both ideational change (the rise and fall and rise of free-market economics) and material factors (competitive pressure, crises, and domestic politics) on financial regulatory change and on one another in the United Kingdom and United States since 1846. Using a vector error correction model, I find that elite ideas influenced regulation in Britain, but not the United States. Material factors exhibited more explanatory power in both cases, although institutional differences between Britain and the United States made some shocks more or less important in either country. Material factors also influenced ideational change in both cases.

Power Struggles, Regulation and Responsibility

This article explores the relationship between the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and government during the implementation of the Video Recordings Act (VRA). It considers the public Parliamentary debates about the VRA, and places them alongside private correspondence between the Home Office and the BBFC, and internal BBFC material from the recently catalogued James Ferman papers held at the BFI. As well as exploring the introduction of the VRA, this article also aims to briefly consider its implications for the BBFC, how they set about interpreting and implementing its stringent recommendations and how this impacted upon the organisational working practices of the Board. While the VRA was without doubt one of the most significant pieces of legislation within the history of film regulation in Britain, the time is ripe for its reappraisal and with it a re-evaluation of the role played by the BBFC in securing statutory regulatory powers.

Accidents and Apathy: The Construction of the 'Robens Philosophy' of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation in Britain, 1961-1974.

The 1972 Robens Report is widely regarded to have provided the underlying rationale for the ‘modern’ system of occupational health and safety regulation in Britain, embodied in the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSW Act) 1974. The HSW Act advanced a new, more flexible system of regulation, premised on the ideal of self-regulation by industry. This article advances a more nuanced historical understanding of the Report and its ethos—the ‘Robens philosophy’—than hitherto developed, situating its assumptions about accidents, regulation and the role of the state in the social, economic and political context of Britain in the 1960s and early 1970s. Highlighting the interaction between these trends and long-established regulatory practices, the article argues that the turn to ‘self-regulation’ heralded by the Robens Report was highly convincing from a political and regulatory perspective at the time it was promulgated.

Law and Finance in Emerging Economies: The Case of Germany 1800-1913

By most standards, Britain in the 19th century was the leading financial nation in the world, possessing more developed capital markets than any other country. An influential view in the law and finance literature argues that holding macroeconomic factors constant, this difference in financial development can be attributed to more stringent disclosure regulation in Britain. This article compares Britain with another European country that was at the centre of the industrial transformation in the 19th century: Germany. It presents a more granular analysis of regulatory reform than is available elsewhere in the literature and presents findings that are, in several respects, at variance with the orthodox view in law and finance. The level of disclosure regulation was largely comparable in both countries during the period under investigation. Furthermore, reform of disclosure regulation was not an exogenous stimulus of financial development, but evolved incrementally and in response to changing market conditions. This was different with respect to the legal regime governing the formation of stock corporations. Here, the two countries developed in diametrically opposed directions as a result of concerted efforts by the policy maker to effect changes in market conditions. The article argues that these rules stand out as the most striking difference between Germany and the UK, a difference that was relevant to organisational choice and types of finance available to the entrepreneur.

Who guards the guardians?

The United Kingdom’s Leveson Inquiry has been the hottest free show in town since it began taking evidence in November 2011 until the first phase of the Inquiry concluded on 24 July 2012. During that time, the general public has been exposed to a tsunami of information from the great and the good in Britain, which raised questions not only about journalism practices and ethics but the separation of powers and the rule of law. The importance to any democracy of an independent judiciary cannot be overestimated. Sir Brian Leveson began the inquiry by posing the question: Who guards the guardians? He stressed that the concept of the freedom of the press was a fundamental part of any democracy and that he had no desire to stifle freedom of speech in Britain. This article reflects on missed opportunities and considers the future for press regulation in Britain. It also makes the point that irrespective of whatever new regime is established, it is time for proprietors, editors and journalists to stand up for responsible, public interest journalism and only then will there be an outside chance that the public’s faith in mainstream journalism will be restored.

Journalism’s road codes: The enduring nature of common ethical standards

Journalistic principles and codes of practice are manifestations of a desire to be seen as socially responsible. Their significance has never been in doubt but the failure to adhere to them has been brought into sharp public focus by the News International phone hacking scandal and subsequent investigations in to news media regulation in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. This article compares codes of practice across the English-speaking world and finds significant similarities in what is expected of professional journalists by their employers and professional bodies, although there are variations in the extent to which the principles of responsible journalism are followed. The means by which journalists and media companies are held accountable is challenging various jurisdictions. However, the principles to be followed are likely to remain unchanged because they are based on a pragmatic approach to shielding individuals from harm at the hands of journalists.

Gambling in Britain: the application of restraint erosion theory

To provide an overview of gambling and problem gambling in Britain, including historical background, current regulations and the recognition, prevalence and treatment of problem gambling. A new theory, Gambling Restraint Erosion Theory (GRET), is used as a framework for understanding the history of gambling regulation in Britain in the 20th century and evidence about the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling, as well as public attitudes towards gambling, in Britain in the first decade of the 21st century. Restraints on gambling were progressively dismantled as regulation moved from partial prohibition, to tolerance, and then to liberalization by the turn of the millennium. British adult gambling prevalence surveys carried out in 1999/2000, 2006/07 and 2009/10 suggest that the British public is still relatively restrained in its engagement in gambling, and is still suspicious of gambling. There is evidence from the last of those surveys that engagement in some forms of gambling, and the prevalence of problem gambling, have risen, and that attitudes have become less negative towards gambling. Restraints which kept British gambling circumscribed, and the prevalence of problem gambling low, may be in the process of being eroded. Meanwhile, an effective public health response to problem gambling is constrained by lack of Department of Health interest and a failure to develop a research and treatment base independent of the gambling industry.

Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia, by Deana Heath

Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia, by Deana Heath

Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia Deana Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 244 pp. $95 (hardback).

<b><i>Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia</i></b> Deana Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 244 pp. $95 (hardback).

&lt;em&gt;Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia&lt;/em&gt;, by Deana Heath

&lt;em&gt;Purifying Empire: Obscenity and the Politics of Moral Regulation in Britain, India and Australia&lt;/em&gt;, by Deana Heath

‘Soft regulation’ and the modernisation of employment relations under the British Labour Government (1997–2010): partnership, workplace facilitation and trade union change

This article explores the way that the British New Labour Government (1997–2010) sought to craft a modernised approach to employment relations through the means of ‘soft regulation’. Drawing from discrete empirical projects from each of New Labour's three terms of office, the article examines the role of the state in promoting labour-employer partnerships for mutual gains, the facilitation of workplace change and the modernisation of trade unions. The article argues that the lack of collective regulation in Britain has meant that the state has had to intervene in every more subtle, discrete and complex and, because of this, analysis of the varied means of ‘soft regulation’ allows for a deeper appreciation of the nature of state intervention in employment relations. Such intervention brings new tensions and challenges to the organisation of the state's role in employment relations.

Varieties of Strategies: Societal Influences on British and German Responses to the Global Economic Crisis

The current global financial and economic crisis has led to widespread calls for multilateral policy co-ordination. However, national strategies towards financial market regulation and domestic stimulus programmes considerably diverge in cross-country comparison. Why do policy reactions to the crisis differ? Following a societal approach to preference formation, I argue that national strategies are strongly shaped by value-based ideas and by sectoral interests. While ideas on the role of politics in governing the economy can, for example, lean more towards trust in market forces or instead favour governmental regulation, interests may influence governmental positions according to the economic relevance of the respective sector. An analysis of the discourse and the measures regarding stimulus packages and financial market regulation in Britain and Germany supports this argument and shows that ideas as expectations, institutionalised ideas and material interests reinforced one another in influencing governmental strategies.

One Hundred Years of British Minimum Wage Legislation

AbstractThe Trade Boards Act 1909 was a landmark in the development of minimum wage regulation in Britain and around the world. Although their powers were limited, the trade boards had immediate and tangible effects in terms of raising living standards, and over time they became a core part of the system of state support for collective wage determination. While influential overseas, the wages councils (as the trade boards became after 1945) were eventually seen as providing only a partial solution to the problem of low pay. In the 1980s, their powers were reduced under the influence of deregulatory labour market policies, prior to their abolition in 1993. The British national minimum wage (‘NMW’), which was introduced in 1998, despite appearances, is not a universal national minimum of the kind which the Webbs and other Fabian writers argued for a century ago. Notwithstanding a growing consensus that the supposed negative economic effects of the minimum wage have not been borne out by the experience of the NMW, public policy has yet to take fully on board its potential benefits, including the reduction of social costs and the promotion of social partnership.

Better regulation and enterprise: the case of environmental health risk regulation in Britain

Proposals for ‘better regulation’ and the policy dynamics behind them are examined with respect to the implications for the regulation of environmental health risks in smaller enterprises in Britain. Although better regulation has involved a fluid and rapidly changing discourse across the European Union, the regulatory reform agenda has recently refocused on competitiveness, simplification of targets and the reduction of administrative burdens on businesses. A review of the evidence base on the impact of regulation on business performance and the compliance behaviour of enterprises suggests that proposals relating to environmental health in Britain have been overly influenced by ‘red tape’ discourse which lends disproportionate weight to claims relating to regulatory burdens and underplays the benefits of regulation. Questions are raised with respect to some key aspects of better regulation: the policy to shift resources from enforcement to education; the limitations of comprehensive risk assessment applied to targeting enforcement; uncertainties relating to the potential of alternative means of achieving compliance and the adoption of good practice; and the over-emphasis in simplification exercises on the achievement of narrowly defined cost savings.

Seduced by the Silver Screen: Film Addicts, Critics and Cinema Regulation in Britain in the 1930s and 1940s

It is irrefutably contended that the film serves a political and social need as a narcotic … there is an inescapable hypnosis attached to the movie screen that can catch up from his plush seat a sa...