Enforcement Of Standards Research Articles

Antitrust in the Shadow of Market Disruptions

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a chain reaction of large-scale disruptions, which drew attention to an old antitrust theme: the relationship between competition policy and large-scale market disruptions, such as wars, financial crises, natural disasters, pandemics, political upheavals, and technological change. This paper revisits the topic. Discussions of the topic in the literature emphasize concerns that large-scale disruptions tend to lead to the relaxation of antitrust enforcement and assertions that lax antitrust standards subvert preparedness for large-scale disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic inspired reams of commentary presenting both sets of concerns. Despite their popularity in the literature and public discourse, these claims are uninformed. The United States partially suspended antitrust enforcement three times in the first half of the 20th century, when the belief that competition was ruinous and wasteful was common and influential. By contrast, today, there is a broad consensus that the competitive process is beneficial and that antitrust standards have been overly lax in recent decades. It is, therefore, doubtful that the COVID-19 crisis would lead to further relaxation of enforcement standards. Assertions that lax antitrust standards undermine national preparedness for disasters, in turn, reflect a misunderstanding of the competitive process. When governments fail to address disruption risks, the market system does not generate adequate incentives for organizations and individuals to invest in preparedness. In the absence of regulatory resilience standards, market competition can deter private investments in preparedness measures because firms do not internalize the effects of their conduct on disruption risks. By contrast, when the government sets and enforces resilience standards, the competitive process is likely to drive down the costs of compliance with the standards and foster innovation in preparedness technologies.

Challenges and Opportunities of Evidence Use in Practice in Australian Children’s Development Programs

ABSTRACT This paper explores the role of evidence and its use in a cluster of Australian community-based child development programs. The paper draws on findings from a 2016–2017 study commissioned by a not-for-profit organization to review their programs’ alignment with government evidence-based program expectations. Cunningham and Duffee’s (2009) evidence-based practice style typology is utilized to examine how different purposes of use drive styles of and approaches to evidence sourcing, application, and reporting. Perspectives on what constitutes evidence and how such evidence is valued, used, and reported can vary considerably between individual programs, irrespective of enforced standards and expectations. It is argued that a single-dimensional approach to program evidence-based evaluation and reporting is not appropriate and potentially damaging in contexts where community-based programs have different purposes, structures, cultures, and intentions. Given a program’s particular evidence-use style, evidence-based criteria, processes, and reporting requirements should be matched accordingly.

Informal employment and the earnings of home‐based home care workers in the United States

ABSTRACTInformal employment continues to exist in parallel with formal employment among the US home‐based home care workers and undermines the workers' economic security. This study examines the extent to which the earnings of the US home‐based home care workers are affected by informal employment arrangements and state labour policies designed to benefit low‐wage home care workers. Using a sample of 1,318 home‐based home care workers from the 2017 and 2018 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, this study found that (i) informally employed home‐based home care workers had a 9% reduction in annual earnings and that (ii) their earnings were not improved by generous state minimum wages and Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights while the earnings of agency employees were. The findings highlight the importance of strong enforcement of labour standards for informally employed home care workers in the United States.

Access to standard essential patents and antitrust enforcement: the case for licensing component manufacturers

The ability to compete on numerous markets today depends on access to technological standards. When standards are protected by standard essential patents (SEP), a license to use such SEPs will be required. There have been numerous disputes in various jurisdictions over refusals to license SEPs. Most recently, disputes concern access to SEPs by the manufacturers of components. Some SEP holders deny access to their standard essential patents to component manufacturers and prefer to license end product producers. This practice has become a highly contentious issue around the world. In particular, manufacturers of components who are denied access to SEPs claim that such refusals amount to violations of competition rules. The author examines this highly contested practice is an attempt to show when denying access to an SEP license could harm competition.

Channels of Labour Control in Organic Farming: Toward a Just Agroecological Transition for Sub-Saharan Africa

Agroecological farming has long been described as more fulfilling than conventional agriculture, in terms of farmers’ labour and sense of autonomy. These assumptions must be reconsidered with adequate theoretical perspectives and with the empirical experience of recent studies. This paper introduces the concept of channels of labour control in agriculture based on four initiatives in Senegalese agroecological horticulture. We build on Bourdieu’s theory of social fields to elaborate a framework that articulates multiple channels of labour control with the type of capital or surplus values structuring power relations during labour processes. Although each of the four agroecological initiatives place a clear emphasis on improving farmers’ well-being, various top-down channels of labour control exist, maintaining most farmworkers as technical demonstrators rather than agents of transformation. These constraints stem from dependence on foreign funding, enforcement of uncoordinated organic standards, and farmers’ incorporation of cultural values through interplays of knowledge and symbolic power with initiative promotors. Pressure on agricultural workers is exacerbated by the context of the neo-liberalisation of Senegalese agriculture and increasingly difficult climatic conditions. A more holistic approach of agroecological initiatives is needed, including the institutionalisation of protected markets for their products, farmers’ inclusion in agroecosystem governance and inclusiveness in the co-production of agroecological knowledge, taking cultural patterns of local communities into account. Recent attempts to scale-up and politicise agroecology through farmers’ organisations, advocacy NGOs, and municipalities may offer new perspectives for a just agroecological transition in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dialogue and Coordination: How Hybrid Models Can Strengthen Labor Standards Enforcement

This article examines the factors that limit and support the capacity of developing states to regulate labor in the public and private spheres, as well as the role of international parties in strengthening that capacity. The purpose is to better understand the potential for a more coordinated approach informed by hybrid models of enforcement, which can contribute to closing regulatory gaps. Fieldwork was carried out in the garment sectors in South Africa and Lesotho during 2018, including 20 semi-structured interviews with industry stakeholders representing government, business, and labor. Findings indicate that the developing state has an important role to play in facilitating a more coordinated approach between systems of enforcement, including public and private enforcement agencies, national development agencies, manufacturers, buyers, and unions. The case studies indicate the potential of such an approach to, for example, improve inspection quality, accountability, and transparency. The state can play an active role in facilitating a hybrid approach to regulation that involves both state and non-state actors, with dialogue and coordination at the core of addressing broader challenges for enforcement.

Who to Inspect? Using Employee Complaint Data to Inform Workplace Inspections in Ontario

In Ontario, as in many other jurisdictions, employment standards enforcement includes reactively investigating employee complaints and, to a lesser extent, proactively inspecting workplaces. Analyses of administrative data from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) show that the use of complaint data to inform workplace inspections is quite limited. Strict adherence to the MOL’s procedures for workplace inspections is not conducive to the investigation of some of the most common empirical complaints. Accordingly, we argue for more strategic enforcement by making greater use of complaint data to guide workplace inspections triggered by complaints and for the increased use of penalties in these inspections.

Towards Improving Performance of the Construction Industry in Ghana: A SWOT Approach

The construction industry is the second largest contributor to GDP and a significant driver of economic activities in Ghana. Given the importance of the construction industry in boosting the national economy, it is essential to develop effective strategies to keep improving the performance of the industry. To achieve this aim, this research conducted the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of the Ghanaian construction industry. Underpinned by the SWOT analysis, strategic recommendations are provided to minimise the weaknesses and neutralise the threats that confront the industry, while taking advantage of the strengths and exploiting the opportunities presented to it. These include investment to facilitate innovation and growth, human resource development, development and enforcement of policy and standards, and conducive procurement practice. The recommendations are expected to provide practical and theoretical directions to the industry’s stakeholders on effective ways to improve the industry’s performance.

First report on quality and purity evaluations of avocado oil sold in the US

The demand for avocado oil has increased significantly as consumers resonate with its potential health benefits, however, due to the lack of enforceable standards, consumers are unprotected from fraud (i.e., economic motivated adulteration). This study analyzed avocado oils currently on the market in the US to evaluate their quality (e.g., free fatty acidity, peroxide value, UV absorbances, vitamin E) and purity (e.g., fatty acids, sterols, triacylglycerols). Our results showed that the majority of commercial samples were oxidized before reaching the expiration date listed on the bottle. In addition, adulteration with soybean oil at levels near 100% was confirmed in two “extra virgin” and one “refined” sample. These findings demonstrate there is an urgent need to develop standards for avocado oil not only to ensure the consumers receive high quality and authentic products but to establish a level playing field to support the continuing growth of global avocado oil industry.

Effectiveness of Mechanisms for Enforcement of Ethical Standards in the Construction Industry

Gross unethical conducts are common issues among professionals in the construction sector due to the heterogeneous nature of the industry. However, limited efforts are made to ensure that ethical standards become enforced among professionals in the sector. Therefore, this study assessed effective mechanisms for the enforcement of ethical standards to improve public confidence in construction professionals. Data were collected through copies of questionnaire administered on professionals in consultancy, contracting and government organizations in Southwestern Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-two (172) copies of questionnaire were retrieved and found suitable for the analysis. Data collected was analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that all the ethical standards identified were moderately significant with relative effective index (REI) that ranged from 0.585 to 0.526. Some of these included personal reputation, promotion of civic right, good citizenry, among others. Four major effective mechanisms for the enforcement of ethical standards extracted through factor analysis are the roles to be played by the stakeholders (68.22%), individual (9.44%), industry (3.64%) and legal instruments (3.08%). It was concluded that these four mechanisms are effective in the enforcement of ethical standards in the construction industry. The study recommends that all construction stakeholders must ensure that all hands are on deck through collaborations to sanitise the image of the industry. The outcome of this research will improve the ethical orientation of each professional, which will have a positive effect on the general public's perception of the industry.

Editorial

Editorial

The effects of fuel standards on air pollution: Evidence from China

This paper examines the causal relationship between China's fuel standards and air pollution using a difference-in-differences design and regression discontinuity analyses. Combining data on staggered prefectural implementation of the regulations with hourly station-level pollution data, we show that the enforcement of high-quality gasoline standards significantly improved air quality, especially in terms of fine particles and ozone. The average pollution across all pollutants was reduced by 12.9%. The new gasoline standard's net benefit is estimated to be about US$26 billion annually. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of precise standards in reducing air pollution in a developing country setting.

Psychosocial Risk, Work-Related Stress, and Job Satisfaction among Domestic Waste Collectors in the Ho Municipality of Ghana: A Phenomenological Study.

Domestic waste collectors play key roles in the collection and disposal of solid waste in Ghana. The work environment and conditions under which domestic waste collectors operate influence their job satisfaction ratings and health outcomes. This study investigated psychosocial risk factors, work-related stress and job satisfaction needs among municipal solid waste collectors in the Ho Municipality of Ghana. A phenomenological design was applied to collect data among 64 domestic waste collectors, 12 managers, and 23 supervisors of two waste companies in Ho Municipality, Ghana. Data were collected from June–August 2018 using in-depth interview and focus group discussion guides. Interviews were supplemented by field observations. Data were analyzed using inductive and deductive content procedures to form themes based on the study aim. Four themes emerged from the study. The study results revealed that domestic waste collector’s poor attitudes and safety behaviors such as not wearing personal protective equipment, poor enforcement of safety standards by supervisors and managers, and work-related stress caused by poor working environments impact negatively on domestic waste collector’s health and safety. Other factors such as poor enforcement of standard company regulations, poor work relations, non-clear work roles, lack of social protection to meet medical needs, poor remuneration, negative community perceptions of domestic waste collectors job, work environments, and workloads of domestic waste collectors were reported to negatively impact on work stress and job satisfaction needs. In conclusion, the findings are important in informing the necessary waste management policies aimed at improving decent work environments, as well as improving the health and well-being of domestic waste collectors in both the formal and informal sectors in Ghana.

4 Migration research and analysis: Growth, reach and recent contributions

4 Migration research and analysis: Growth, reach and recent contributions

Slicing and Dicing Work in the Australian Horticulture Industry: Labour Market Segmentation within the Temporary Migrant Workforce

This article exposes how disparity in the immigration rules of different visas combines with poor enforcement of labour standards to produce a segmented labour market in the Australian horticulture industry. We argue that the precarious work norms of the horticulture industry result in a ‘demand’ on the part of employers for harvest workers to perform precarious jobs. Such demand has been met by the workers supplied through different segments of temporary migrant labour who may be a particularly attractive form of precarious labour because of the conditionalities they experience as a result of their visa class. Our analysis demonstrates that not only do growers make preferences between local and temporary migrant workers, but they also make preferences between different types of temporary migrant workers. In identifying segmentation between temporary migrant workers on different visa categories, the article makes a significant contribution to the labour market segmentation literature, which hitherto has focused on segmentation between migrant workers and non-migrant workers.

Dealing with ‘vulnerable workers’ in precarious employment: Front-line constraints and strategies in employment standards enforcement

Individual worker complaints continue to be the core foundation of employment standards enforcement in many Western jurisdictions, including the Canadian province of Ontario. In the contemporary labour market context where segments of the labour force may be disproportionately impacted by rights violations, and employment relationships are more diverse and often more tenuous than previously, the continued reliance on individual claims suggests a need to better understand the challenges associated with the investigation and resolution of claims involving ‘vulnerable workers’ in precarious employment situations. Using interviews with front-line Ontario employment standards officers (ESOs), this article examines the extent to which certain worker characteristics and employment situations perceived by officers as ‘vulnerable’ are identified by officers as significant constraints or barriers to investigation processes and outcomes, and documents whether and how officers address these constraints and barriers. The analysis also identifies the perceived influence of policy, resource and legislative requirements in shaping how officers deal with the more difficult and challenging cases, while also considering the extent to which the officers’ actions are understood by them as discretionary and guided by their particular orientations or concerns. In so doing, this article reveals challenges to the resolution of claims in precarious employment situations, the very place where employment standards are often most needed.

Social protectionist bias: The domestic politics of North–South trade agreements

North–South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have proliferated rapidly in the past decades. Despite a common focus on trade liberalisation, these preferential trade agreements differ greatly in their inclusion of labour and environmental provisions. A difference in the enforcement of these social standards is also puzzling: some preferential trade agreements envision sanctions for non-compliance while others do not. What explains this variation? We argue that Northern governments have their hands tied by domestic constituents demanding social standards as a key protectionist instrument. However, different electoral rules moderate the success of these demands. Because majoritarian systems provide a more efficient channel for the mobilisation of protectionist interests, they are more prone to social protectionist bias than their proportional representation counterparts. We assess our hypotheses using panel regressions of all North–South preferential trade agreements. Our analysis refines previous findings on tariff and non-tariff protectionist bias in majoritarian systems and shows how it is manifested in the design of preferential trade agreements.

Collateral benefit: the developmental effects of EU-induced state building in Central and Eastern Europe

According to the literature on economic development, the upgrading of core state institutions is the sine qua non of promoting growth and development in lesser-developed countries. The European Union (EU) is the first transnational integration regime that has experimented with measures to upgrade core state institutions. It did so in the pre-accession period of the would-be member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In this paper, we empirically explore the developmental effects of the EU-induced upgrading of the judiciary, bureaucracy and competition authority in CEE countries. We base our analysis on two new datasets: one on the quality of foreign trade and the other on institutional reform measures of the judiciary, bureaucracy and competition authority. Our main finding is that EU-induced upgrading of core state institutions, especially the judiciary, significantly improves developmental outcomes. In the post-accession period, however, the European Commission has only a weak capacity to enforce EU-wide norms that can guarantee the quality of these core state institutions. The lack of enforceable standards on the quality of core state institutions undermines the effectiveness of EU policies aimed at achieving economic convergence.

Book review: Evidence Standards in EU Competition Enforcement, by Andriani Kalintiri. (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019)

Book review: <i>Evidence Standards in EU Competition Enforcement</i>, by Andriani Kalintiri. (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019)

Impact of Governance on Financial Development: evidence from West Africa

The study explores the impacts of governance on financial development in West African countries.Data for the study were obtained from the World Bank Database covering the period from 2006-2017. The variables for governance comprises of the six world governance indicators while financial development was represented by ratio of bank deposit to GDP and domestic credit to private sector. The control variables included in the model are interest rate, inflation, GDP per capita and trade openness. The findings from the study revealed that political stability and absence of violence, and regulatory quality have significant effects on both proxies of financial development. Also, voice and accountability, trade openness and interest rate show significances on the ratio bank deposit to GDP while government effectiveness (negative), rule of law, and control of corruption show significances on domestic credit to private sector. Thus, improving the quality of governance through strengthening legal and institutional frameworks, enforcement of standards and empowering of supervisory agencies, introducing an efficient regulatory environment to facilitate financial inclusion will play significant roles in the pace of financial development in the West Africa region. Keywords: Governance, Financial Development and West Africa