Sectorial Regulation Research Articles

Multi-level biological responses of Daphnia magna exposed to settleable atmospheric particulate matter from metallurgical industries

Metallurgical industries are a continuous source of air pollution due to the amount of settleable particulate matter (SePM) they release. This SePM is a complex mixture formed by metallic nanoparticles and metals, which reach terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and can be a significant source of contamination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adverse effects of SePM at different levels of biological organization in order to estimate its ecological impacts on aquatic ecosystems. For this purpose, the crustacean Daphnia magna was exposed to different concentrations of SePM (0.01, 0.1, 1, 5, 10 g/L) using a multi-level response approach. The endpoints studied were: avoidance throughout 24 h in a non-forced exposure system, reproduction (total number of neonates per female after 21 days of exposure), acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) after 48 h, and finally, the feeding rates during a short-term exposure (48 h) and a long-term exposure (21 day + 48 h). There was a negative effect of SePM on all responses measured at high concentrations. The avoidance was concentration-dependent and represented 88 % and 100 % at the two highest concentrations. The AChE activity was significantly inhibited at 5 and 10 g/L. The total number of neonates increased from 1 g/L of SePM and the first brood occurred earlier as of 5 g/L compared to control. The post-exposure feeding rates were lower during long-term exposure at the highest concentration. Chemical analyses were performed to characterize the metals present in this SePM, but this study did not report any direct relationship with toxicity, due to the chemical heterogeneity of the particles. The emission of compounds caused by anthropogenic activity may have significant ecological consequences, so it is important to consider these possible effects on aquatic biota generated by the mixture of metals present in SePM originated from metallurgical activities. Environmental and sectorial regulations are needed to prevent contamination and ecological disturbances.

Tax aggressiveness in publicly traded companies operating in a regulated market

Purpose: The research aims to identify whether the regulated market through its agencies is a determining factor for a posture of less tax aggressiveness in companies.
 Methodology: BTD (Book-Tax Differences), ETRc (Current Effective Tax Rate) and CashETR (Cash Effective Tax Rate) were the indicators used in this study to measure the level of tax aggressiveness. The sample corresponded to all companies that traded their shares in B3, from 2010 to 2018.
 Results: The results of this study show that companies that operate in a regulated market are less tax aggressive than companies that operate in the free market. It was thus noted that market regulation acts as a factor that discourages the implementation of more aggressive tax strategies.
 Contributions of the Study: The practical contribution of this study was to evaluate the sectorial regulation model in force in the country, from the perspective of tax benefits and the control of tax aggressiveness. This study brings from theoretical contribution the need for a more effective participation of taxpayers for a regulatory model more guided by the mutual contribution between public administration and companies. Still under the theoretical aspect, the work contributes to the evaluation of sectorial regulation as a mechanism to control tax avoidance and reduce tax aggressiveness, in addition to providing initial study material for future research on the behavior of the regulated market in the face of tax aggressiveness.

ANÁLISE DE IMPACTO REGULATÓRIO: UMA ABORDAGEM DE ESTUDOS DE EVENTOS

There is a growing concern of governments and regulators in assessing the impact of laws, decrees and other regulations. Researchers, government and international organizations have been discussing the use of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) and Cost Benefit Analysis (BCA). This article proposes an approach for impact analysis of regulation, derived from event study methodology with adjustments to circumvent the problem of contemporaneous correlation among observations. Indeed, as regulation affects all companies at the same time, it is particularly challeging to tell apart the effects of regulation from other influences. The approach proposed avoid this and other challenges, such as the establishment of a benchmark for market returns, the different effects of regulation over different regulated companies, the dealing with effects that are not noticeable in event studies and the effects of the use of daily data for those studies. At the end, it is presented a script for the econometric evaluation of financial and sectorial regulation and it is suggested, as an example, some empirical models for the test of financial regulations.

Can Coordination Between the Producer and the Distributor in the Process of Calculating Prices and Their Structure in the Tariff Process Be Regarded as Legally Prohibited, Having Regard to the Provisions of Sectorial Regulation and the Regulatory Practice? Case Comment to Decision of the President of UOKiK of 3 December 2020, DOK-5/2020

This is a case study analysis based on the decision No. DOK-5/2020 issued by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (hereinafter: UOKiK) of 3 December 2020. The main part of the text will be devoted to the analysis of the scope of competences of the President of Energy Regulatory Office (hereinafter: URE) (the NRA) and the President of UOKiK (the NCA) regarding the regulation of heat prices (taking into account Polish and EU doctrine and jurisprudence). In contrast to other publications on the relationship between the competences of the President of URE and the President of UOKiK in supervising the heat market, the paper will focus on the following issues: the process of exchanging information between generators and distributors, the practice of tariff proceedings before the President of URE and the role of the President of UOKiK in the process of tariffing heat prices. The conclusion of the text will be that due to the provisions of Polish energy law, the role of the President of URE in the tariff process, the public nature of tariff applications and approved tariffs, no unauthorised coordination of information exchange between heating companies is possible. The thesis will be supported by de lege ferenda arguments.

Processing of personal data relating to the health of the data subject in a pandemic situation

This study offers a systematic, exhaustive and updated investigation of the declaration of the state of alarm and the processing of personal data relating to the health of citizens affected and/or potentially affected by the exceptional situation resulting from COVID-19. Specifically, it analyses the distinction between the state of alarm and the states of exception and siege and the possible effect on the fundamental right to the protection of personal data in exceptional health crisis situations and the effects that this declaration may have on the applicable regulations, issued, at a Community level. Next, and taking into consideration all the general and sectorial regulations applicable to data protection and health, we proceed to the analysis of the legitimate bases and the exceptions that, applicable to situations of health emergency such as the present one, enable the processing, taking into account the nature of the person who intervenes as the controller, making special emphasis on the public interest pursued by the Public Administrations and on the vital interest of the interested party.

Regional Features of Implementation of the National Health-Improving Physical Activity Strategy in Ukraine

The article considers the issue of monitoring and evaluation of measures within the National Strategy for Health-Improving Physical Activity in Ukraine «Physical Activity - Healthy Lifestyle - Healthy Nation» for the period up to 2025 in the context of governance. It is determined that the public administration activities of authorities at all levels on implementation of the measures of this strategy are based on the principles of international law and constitutional and regulatory support. The article substantiates that public relations in the field of health-improving physical activity in Ukraine are regulated by UN Conventions, WHO guidelines for national governments, the Constitution of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine, governmental and sectorial regulations, and resolutions of local authorities and local governments. A number of features that nowadays characterize aspects of practical implementation and enforcement of the National Strategy for Health-Improving Physical Activity in Ukraine at the regional level have been identified. It has been established that: (1) participation of regions in the implementation of the strategy is non-consolidated; (2) in some regions there is no correlation between the content of the plans for the implementation of the strategy and the content of the relevant reports; (3) at the regional level, the development of physical culture and health infrastructure is asymmetric; (4) over the past three years, there has been a positive trend in involving local administrations in the development and approval of regional plans for the implementation of the strategy; (5) over the years of implementation of the strategy, the openness of the authorities to disclose the content of activities to members of the public has a positive trend. The most consistent cooperation of authorities on the implementation of the strategy is observed in such regions as Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Khmelnytsk.

Los concursos infraccionales en el derecho administrativo sancionador chileno

The paper analyzes the problems of concurrent contraventions in Chile. It makes a relation with the doctrine and penal norms, the sectorial regulations and the criteria of the jurisprudence. The bases of a system applicable to the competitions are proposed to attenuate the mathematical accumulation considering the existing regulatory deficiencies. 

Environmental and Energy Efficiency of EU Electricity Industry: An Almost Spatial Two Stages DEA Approach

This study analyzes the relationship between the energy efficiency and the stringency of environmental and market regulation in the electricity sectors has been analyzed. Using 19 European Union countries (2006-2014), we decomposed the environmental policy stringency index, the OECD regulatory indicators and the total factor productivity growth to highlight the complexity of the relations between electricity sector and regulatory policies. In the first stage we compute the three main components of total factor productivity. These three efficiency measures are used in the second stage to assess the impact of the regulatory policies on the total factor productivity also controlling for spatial effect. Results suggest that market and environmental regulations have not unidirectional impacts on the three components of total factor productivity. Pure and scale efficiency index are negatively affected by sectorial regulation that positively affect the shift of technological frontier. Environmental policy negatively affects the shift of the efficient frontier, but has a positive effect on the scale efficiency.

Environmental and Energy Efficiency of EU Electricity Industry: An Almost Spatial Two Stages DEA Approach

This study analyzes the relationship between the energy efficiency and the stringency of environmental and market regulation in the electricity sectors has been analyzed. Using 19 European Union countries (2006-2014), we decomposed the environmental policy stringency index, the OECD regulatory indicators and the total factor productivity growth to highlight the complexity of the relations between electricity sector and regulatory policies. In the first stage we compute the three main components of total factor productivity. These three efficiency measures are used in the second stage to assess the impact of the regulatory policies on the total factor productivity also controlling for spatial effect. Results suggest that market and environmental regulations have not unidirectional impacts on the three components of total factor productivity. Pure and scale efficiency index are negatively affected by sectorial regulation that positively affect the shift of technological frontier. Environmental policy negatively affects the shift of the efficient frontier, but has a positive effect on the scale efficiency.

Environmental and Energy Efficiency Analysis of EU Electricity Industry: An Almost Spatial Two Stages DEA Approach

The relationship between the environmental and energy efficiency and the stringency of environmental and market regulation in the electricity sectors has been analyzed. Using 19 EU countries (2006-2014), the EU environmental index, the OECD regulatory indicators and the total factor productivity (TFP) growth have been decomposed to highlight the complexity of the relations between electricity sector and regulatory policies. In the first stage we compute the three disaggregated TFP components. These components are used in the second stage to assess the impact of the regulatory policies on the TFP also controlling for spatial effect. Results suggest that market and environmental regulation have not unidirectional impacts on TFP components. Pure and scale efficiency index are negatively affected by sectorial regulation that positively affect the shift of technological frontier. Environmental policy negatively affects the pure efficiency and the shift of the efficient frontier, but has a positive effect on the scale efficiency.

La reconfiguración del sector de radiodifusión: regulación, reglas de negocio y su potencial en la evaluación de las nuevas políticas

The broadcast sector lives a continuous reconfiguration, and television broadcasters must adapt to new technologies in order to keep the leads. The emergence of new platforms over the Internet and the multi-platform services that allow watching any content at any time in mobile devices, reinforce the importance on the development of innovative business models to satisfy customer demands. In this paper the authors will analyze this dynamic market and its strategies for the future from a regulatory and political perspective, as there are key changes in the sectorial regulation that need to be evaluated as they are impacting the status-quo of the actors of this market and the relationships among them. At first, the regulatory framework will be analyzed: this research will include the changes in the European regulations for broadcast telecommunications focusing on the spectrum and the digital dividend. After that, main current business models and strategies will be reviewed. Finally, some conclusions about the future of the sector and the evaluation of the new policies are proposed.

The Energy Performance Evaluation of Buildings in an Evolving Built Environment: An Operative Methodology

The paper is based on a case study in Switzerland, where the Cantonal Director Plan, expected for the next years, will change the urban density. The plan allows raising from three and four floors the height of the existing buildings now separated by streets that are quite narrow, to get over up to eight floors, without modifying the width of street. A case study located in Paradiso municipality, part of Lugano's city (CH) is used to understand and quantify the impact of the future buildings on the energy performance of historical heritage buildings. The building adopted as case study is protected as cultural monument by the new Master Plan and listed in the sectorial regulations for the landscape. However, this building as others in the area is strongly influenced by the new changes in act, due to the New Master Plan, in term of solar availability and thus energy demand. The actual urban density scenario is compared to the future one to evaluate through dynamic energy simulation the change affecting the building considering the energy and economic aspects.

Energy Market Regulations and Productivity: An Examination on OECD Countries between the Years of 1975-2007

Regulations in energy markets that began in a number of countries in 1980s has become more widespread in many countries especially in 2000s. In this context, the fact that how the sectorial regulations affect the economy has become an important point in the name of policy implementers. Within the scope of this study, the effect of anti-competitive regulations in energy markets of OECD countries between the years of 1975 – 2007 on total factor productivity was examined. It is aimed to evaluate effects of sectorial anti-competitive regulation by the use of regulation impact indicator that has been taken from the data base of OECD. In econometric estimations, which were performed by using unbalanced panel data, Cobb-Douglas type of production function that includes energy was characterized and total factor productivity was calculated as residuals of production function in this direction. In consequence of the analysis, it is stated that in case when the regulations in energy market are anti-competitive, they affect total factor productivity in a negative direction .

White paper on the promotion of an integrated risk assessment concept in European regulatory frameworks for chemicals

The vision of a sustainable and safe use of chemicals to protect human health, preserve the environment and maintain the ecosystem requires innovative and more holistic approaches to risk assessment (RA) in order to better inform decision making. Integrated risk assessment (IRA) has been proposed as a solution to current scientific, societal and policy needs. It is defined as the mutual exploitation of environmental risk assessment (ERA) for human health risk assessment (HHRA) and vice versa in order to coherently and more efficiently characterize an overall risk to humans and the environment for better informing the risk analysis process. Extrapolating between species which are relevant for HHRA and ERA requires a detailed understanding of pathways of toxicity/modes of action (MoA) for the various toxicological endpoints. Significant scientific advances, changes in chemical legislation, and increasing environmental consciousness have created a favourable scientific and regulatory environment to develop and promote the concept and vision of IRA. An initial proof of concept is needed to foster the incorporation of IRA approaches into different chemical sectorial regulations and demonstrate their reliability for regulatory purposes. More familiarity and confidence with IRA will ultimately contribute to an overall reduction in in vivo toxicity testing requirements. However, significant progress will only be made if long-term support for MoA-related research is secured. In the short term, further exchange and harmonization of RA terminology, models and methodologies across chemical categories and regulatory agencies will support these efforts. Since societal values, public perceptions and cultural factors are of increasing importance for the acceptance of risk analysis and successful implementation of risk mitigation measures, the integration of socio-economic analysis and socio-behavioural considerations into the risk analysis process may help to produce a more effective risk evaluation and consideration of the risks and benefits associated with the use of chemicals.

European competition law in the electronic communications sector: evolution and critical analysis

Following a preparatory process that lasted about ten years, on January 1, 1998, the telecommunication services market was completely liberalised in most European Union countries. It was obvious that in the telecommunications industry, competition could not be quickly established simply by knocking down the legal obstacles. As a result, the first regulatory framework tried to meticulously “conduct” the development of competition in the market. Nevertheless, this scheme evolved along with technology and market competition development. A new regulatory framework for electronic communications was approved in 2002; its main objective is the rapprochement of sectorial regulation towards general Competition Law, based on an ex post intervention.

The Impact of Privacy Legislation on the Workplace: The New Zealand Experience

This paper describes how New Zealand's Privacy Act applies in practice to the workplace, and what its effect has been in relation to the protection of workers’ privacy interests. While there are a few areas where the legislation is effective, it has been largely a disappointment for workers, who are increasingly subject to privacy-intrusive practices in the workplace. Individuals’ interests have always tended to be overridden in institutional and contractual settings where individuals lack bargaining power. The main argument of this paper is that New Zealand's Privacy Act, now in force for over eleven years, has hardly affected the balance of power in relation to workplace privacy matters. The irony is that those who are best placed to take advantage of the legislation in the employment setting are unsuccessful job applicants and dismissed employees; i.e. those who are not actually in a subsisting employment relationship. Despite the existence of privacy legislation, it is employment law that remains of paramount importance for the protection of workers’ privacy interests. The New Zealand experience suggests that effective workplace privacy protection can only be attained through specific sectorial regulation that overrides managerial prerogative and the ability of workers to contract out or their rights.

Les relations entre la grande distribution et ses fournisseurs : bilan et limites de trente ans de régulation

The paper aims at assessing the French regulation of the retailing sector, focusing on the relationships between retailers and suppliers, from the Royer law in 1973 to the 2001 law on the "new economic regulation". We distinguish between the control of firms behaviors, relying on both standard competition law and specific sectorial regulation, and the control of market structures, in particular concentration and shops' setting-up. We bring to light an important gap between the objectives and the effects of the different laws. Even if the recent modifications due to the "new economic regulation" improve the law, we show that many inefficiencies remain.

Régulation de la sphère viticole dans la périphérie européenne : le cas du Portugal

Wine sector regulation at the periphery of Europe : the case of Portugal. Its position at the periphery of Europe confers specific features to Portugal's economic and social attributes. Internally, the three main characteristics are : a dominant role of the State in domestic affairs, strong social solidarity mechanisms and a complex social fabric relying on informal compensatory mechanisms. Externally, emphasis is laid on Portugal's geo-strategic position at the European periphery and the implications of such a position. The present study approaches Portuguese viticulture in terms of sectorial regulation, and identifies historical periods with different forms of regulation of the viticultural industry. The major differences and similarities between Portugal and the European wine producing country par excellence, i.e. France, are highlighted. Starting from the XVIIIth century, the first period that is identifiable in this historical analysis lasted till the first quarter of the XXth century. This period corresponds to a phase of in-stitutionalisation of two wine spheres, i.e. Port wine versus other wines. A phase of mass production then followed from the 1930s to the 60s. During this period, the Port wine trade met with difficulties on international markets and production of domestic common wine was favoured. Finally, a third period corresponds to integration into Europe. Following the development of new consumption patterns, this period is characterised by a qualitative renewal both on Since 1861, Portugal and France have adopted the same global strategy in world-wide viticulture. Concerning the differences between the two countries, Portugal is characterised by the dominant role of the State, weak professional organisations, delayed adoption of new consumption patterns and delay in the existing relations of production and subjection to foreign economic regimes. With respect to this dependence, the importance of the integration process into the European community should be underscored for the wine sector. This integration has promoted access to more quality-demanding markets. It has been a funding resource to improve the productive and industrial levels of Portugal and has helped to develop new ways of organising and managing the wine sector. As a result, this sector has become less government-dependent and more concerned with quality. These factors have made it possible to increase the relative share of quality wines (VQPRD) in the national wine production, and have also helped reduce the traditional polarisation between Port wine and the remaining Portuguese wines. A better range of wines can now be found on the market.

Challenging the public service model in European telecommunications. Politics in sectorial regulation

Summary: The redefinition of national models for regulating the telecommunications sector, under way since the 1980s, has been characterized by sharp differences in processes and forms - despite significant convergence on a number of points. An understanding of these differences requires an analysis of the dual process of deconstruction of the traditional public service model, and social reconstruction of a new model. Such analysis reveals, behind the apparent similarities of institutional systems based on a public service monopoly, the true diversity in the conception and implementation of this model. It also becomes clear that the insertion ofsectorial problematics in a social debate and political game (of which the rules and content are marked by cultures, political and economic histories and singular contexts), informs the renegotiation and terms of a compromise. The comparative approach adopted here enables us to grasp the significance of political issues and specific forms of political regulation peculiar to each country, in the definition of institutional conditions and in the different paths ofsectorial regulation.