State Monopoly Research Articles

Finnish alcohol policy reform: battle over public health objectives

Abstract A new Alcohol Act came into force in Finland in 2018. The preparation of a comprehensive reform of the alcohol legislation was started already in 2011. The aim of Finnish alcohol policy has been to reduce alcohol-related harm, and the central means to do that have been by way of high taxation and restrictions in the physical availability of alcohol, in which the state alcohol monopoly has had a central role. The process of reforming the act was a long battle between forces that wished to continue underlining the public health aims and using efficient tools to reach those aims on the one hand, and neoliberal politicians aligned with the strong alcohol industry lobby and enthusiasts in social media who wished to get rid of regulation. The new Act somewhat expanded the rights of grocery stores to sell alcohol and de-regulated the on-premise trade by dismantling regulations in the old legislation. The retail state monopoly was weakened as a result, but it still has an important impact on restricting the physical availability of alcohol. Previously when alcohol has been made more available, consumption has increased, and also this time this was the expected outcome. However, an interrupted time series analysis has shown no statistically significant effect of the law change in the first year. One central explanation seems to be that price competition has been less intense than expected. Nonetheless, despite the fact that alcohol taxes were raised, a 10-year downward trend in alcohol consumption from 2008 to 2017 was halted.

The Road to the Alcohol Act 2018 in Finland: A conflict between public health objectives and neoliberal goals

Finnish alcohol policy has aimed for decades years to mitigate alcohol-related harm by using high taxation and restrictions on the physical availability of alcohol. The state monopoly on the retail of alcohol has played a central role in reducing the availability of alcohol. In 2011, preparations began for a comprehensive reform of the Alcohol Act 1994. Over time, the issue became highly politicised, lobbied and divisive. It took intense work of two consecutive governments to finalise the reform. The new Alcohol Act came into force in 2018. It expanded the rights of grocery stores to sell alcohol and reduced the administrative burden for on-premise sales. As a result, the state monopoly on the retail of alcohol was weakened, but it still has an important impact on the physical availability of alcohol. The Finnish public health community expected an increase in alcohol sales following the reform because of greater alcohol availability and expected price reductions related to greater competition of sales in grocery stores. However, prices decreased less than expected in 2018, partly due to a simultaneous increase in alcohol taxes. It is difficult to evaluate the impact of the reform at this early stage. However, after the reform, the 10-year (2008–2017) downward trend in the total per capita alcohol consumption was discontinued despite the tax increase. According to preliminary analyses, the change in the law may have slightly increased recorded alcohol sales but the effect was not statistically significant.

CHALLENGES OF THE COMPETITION POLICY IN SERBIA AND OTHER WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

Free and undisturbed competition, in terms of competing among the market participants to gain as much share as possible, is one of the cornerstones of the efficient functioning of a market economy, all with the aim of increasing social welfare. Due to the emergence and increase of numerous market anomalies, the market of perfect (complete) competition remains only a theoretically viable concept, while imperfect market structures and unequal market relations form are an economic reality. The market in some countries is developed as much as the competition. A competition must be encouraged and even protected with mechanisms and standards that are appropriate to the market economy. In this way the competition encourages an increase of market players performanses. In the process of accession of Serbia and other Western Balkan countries to the European Union one of the most sensitive and most complex economic problems is just related to the construction of a modern market structure. It is certain that the attitude towards the market and the development of competition should have a crucial role in the future economic development and the inclusion of these countries in trends on the single European market. In this sense it is a developed legal regulation which, on the one hand, encourages and helps to strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises in domestic and foreign markets, and on the other hand, with very rigorous sanctions discouraged and suppressing the creation of monopolies, effectively prevents all forms of distortion of competition, monopolistic tendencies (agreements), abuse of the dominant position in the market. The inherent aspiration to restrict competition in any way requires the establishment of an adequate legal and institutional framework. Forming an effective antitrust policy is a conditio sine qua non for the smooth operation of the "invisible hand" in the field of competition protection. Experience shows that in the transition countries the most complex issue is related to the construction of a competetive market structure in a function of ensuring an intense and effective competition between economic entities. Antitrust legislation is therefore particularly important in small open economies that are in pressure of globalization and local state and private monopolies. Among these countries are the Western Balkan states, which are the subject of the research of authors in this paper. Experience shows, and the current practice in Serbia fully confirm that just in the domain of creating the competitive market conditions show considerable resistance. Paper points out the shortcomings and the possible increase in the degree of efficiency of antitrust legislation in the Western Balkan countries.

De América a Asia. El «otro viaje» de Alexander von Humboldt

En 1829 Alexander von Humboldt emprendió una expedición a Asia. Este segundo gran viaje del científico alemán fue complementario, en muchos sentidos, de su más conocido viaje a América, que realizó entre 1799 y 1804. En Rusia, Humboldt viajó y trabajó bajo una fuerte presión política. En su Asie centrale (1843) se sirve de técnicas sutiles y de una crítica indirecta. Humboldt concluyó que, en una economía de monopolios estatales, generar energía era poco eficiente y causa de la destrucción del medio ambiente y del cambio climático.

FUNCTIONING OF THE CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET: CURRENT STATE AND DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS

The article is devoted to the analysis of the cryptocurrency market functioning and the existing problems of its development. Today, the world needs electronic transactions and the elimination of the state monopoly on the issuance of funds. The cryptocurrency market is the evolution that can change the current situation. The factors affecting the demand for cryptocurrencies were determined in this article. One of the most important is the desire of investors to receive a one-time income on the difference in purchase and sale prices, not showing interest in long-term investment in new technologies. Also, regulatory and legal features of cryptocurrency regulation in the international space are revealed. Thus, in some developed countries, cryptocurrencies are recognized as a legal, regulated means of payment, which is allowed to be used when paying for goods and services. The article identifies barriers to market development, including a ban on turnover in some countries and the lack of elaboration of the legal aspect. In conclusion, the opportunities and prospects for the development of cryptocurrency as a means of exchange are revealed. It is noted that more and more countries are beginning to actively understand the issue of the cryptocurrency market and make at least some regulatory framework for their regulation, but at the moment the main financial regulator of the Russian Federation continues to adhere to a negative point of view in terms of cryptocurrencies.

Соціальна функція держави та особливості її реалізації в умовах сучасних глобалізаційних викликів

Розглянуто наукові підходи до визначення соціальної функції держави. Проаналізовано сучасні тенденції у соціальному та економічному розвитку країн світу. Виокремлено окремі проблеми та особливості реалізації державою соціальної функції в умовах глобалізаційних процесів. Сформульовано авторське бачення стосовно призначення держави у контексті виконуваної нею соціальної функції. Окреслено актуальні для України питання щодо забезпечення виконання соціальної функції державою як інституційним утворенням, що покликане забезпечувати комфортне життєве середовище для проживання своїх громадян.

Promoting the Rule of Law in Communities with Criminal Groups: Experimental Evidence from Lagos, Nigeria

How can the state promote the rule of law in communities with criminal groups? Criminal groups often engage in bloody turf battles with quasi-impunity, undermining the state's monopoly on violence. The state struggles to contain criminal violence partly given to a lack of police-citizen cooperation. Moving beyond theories that explain limited cooperation as exclusively a function of police illegitimacy, I argue that social psychological constraints prevent citizens from sharing information with the police. Criminal groups inflate citizens' judgements of retaliation risk and create misperceptions among citizens that few other community members support sharing information. I test strategies for overcoming these constraints in Lagos, Nigeria with the first large-scale survey experiment incorporating virtual reality. Witnesses share 17% more information when a tip line is made anonymous. They share 9% more information after becoming aware of others cooperating. Exposing witnesses to co-ethnic police officers also increases information-sharing by 15% but only for those that ex-ante trust the police.

Tax Farming – Pro ET Contra

This article investigates issues related to a unique experiment carried out in Russia in unifying the collection of all obligatory payments. It analyzes the legal aspects of this approach and presents the variety of methods for collecting such payments. Notions of budget revenue and sources of revenue are considered. Special attention is paid to the forms and practices of tax farming and other obligatory payments. The article concludes that the budget legislation actually specifies various fiscal charges as sources of budget revenue. The real source of public revenue are the assets and resources making up the national wealth. Historical examples show that despite the generally accepted denial, tax farming is a normal method and can be applied along with the state monopoly and tax administration. The cases when tax farming is transformed into a state monopoly or excise and vice versa are not rare. Tax farming, which has continued to this day, is also referred to as parafiscal charges or quasi taxes

Taming Leviathan as Merchant: Lingering Questions about the Practical Application of Trans-Pacific Partnership's State-Owned Enterprises Rules

AbstractThe suspended provisions of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP will not substantially affect the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Chapter 17 on State-owned enterprises (SOEs). As a consequence, the original TPP scheme remains an important treaty model and poses complex questions notwithstanding a growing literature. This article discusses TPP but unlike current writings which focus on comparative treaty methods of SOE regulation, we focus on how TPP/CPTPP will actually operate, paying attention to how its framers have defined an SOE not least in how they have viewed complex crossholdings, excluded non-profits, and preserved a role for State monopolies. Our answers differ from some of the existing literature – particularly on complex cross-holdings. We also provide detailed illustrations of how TPP's non-discrimination, commercial basis, and non-commercial assistance rules might work and comment on the chances of a rule cascade triggered by TPP, particularly in the current state of heightened Sino-American rivalry and allegations of State control in China's economy.

Popularisierung im Dienst der Persuasion.

The article outlines some strategies of persuasion when popularizing legal contents. The study concerns a video (Erklärfilm) published on the website of the Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Justiz, which explains to migrants the main legal principles upon which the German federal state is grounded. Legal issues such as the constitutional freedom of religion or belief and the state monopoly on the use of force are clarified in order to give migrants basic knowledge of the German legal system and, at the same time, to persuade them that it is reasonable and necessary to respect the law. The present investigation focuses on specific argumentation structures and different linguistic actions in order to highlight their contribution to the informative and persuasive purposes of the popularizing video. The linguistic analysis shall also point out some syntactic and lexical features used in knowledge transfer processes.

The collective management of performers’ rights in the UK: a story of competing interests

By Ananay Aguilar. In this article I examine the experience of UK performers using collective management organisation PPL, a UK CMO established by record companies that also manages the rights of performers. I consider the effect of the regulatory framework on the provision of transparency to PPL’s performer members by drawing on primary sources including interviews with performers, PPL’s regulation and its public-facing material. I demonstrate that PPL marshals social, financial, legal and technological resources to prioritise the interests of record companies over those of performers. Considering that the current legal framework supports PPL’s actions, I discuss two alternatives: i) tightening regulation of individual CMOs whilst respecting their monopoly status, and ii) opening up the sector to competition. Despite difficulties faced by performers vis-à-vis PPL, I ultimately side with a large body of literature suggesting that performers are best off in an environment that supports CMO’s monopoly status. However, in an environment where regulators resist tightening regulation, performers are forced to support a competitive market for CMOs.

The Right to Strike and Legal War in Walter Benjamin's “Toward the Critique of Violence”

Abstract The object of this article is to show how, at the beginning of his essay “Toward the Critique of Violence,” Walter Benjamin uses the questions of the right to strike and law of war to exemplify the way in which the state monopoly has no other goal than to preserve the law itself. In so doing, the question of the boundary between violence and nonviolence is put into conversation with the distinction made by Georges Sorel between the political strike and the general revolutionary strike.

Decentralization policies concerning leadership of parents and students in school councils in Poland. From autocracy to democracy within the state monopoly

ABSTRACT Reviewing existing literature and policy documents concerning leadership of parent and student in school councils after World War II, up to the present day, the goal of this paper is to examine how to have parent and student council policies developed in Poland, what solutions exist in the area of educational policy concerning student and parent councils, and how do these solutions support the leadership of parents and youth in schools. To address this aim, a review of the relevant legislation and research work published between 1952 and 2018 has been carried out. Although research into school councils is constantly growing, the policy of education concerning parent and student leadership in Polish context remain unexplored. The paper argues that central to the development of the policy about parent and student leadership in Poland is the evolution from an autocracy after World War II to a democracy within the state monopoly at the present time. The vertical decentralization of decision-making, for example, on financial matters, examinations, school work supervision, is accompanied at the same time by a policy of keeping parent and student leadership in school councils under the control of the Ministry of Education.

Liberalism, Neo-Liberalism and Post-Liberalism; A Reference of Nepal

Liberalism is originally a political term rather than legal philosophic doctrine. Nowadays it has been adopted as a part of society in each and every discipline including legal philosophy. It is closely associated with democracy and freedom which are exercised by people. Ultimately, it is guided by prevailing laws and institutional mechanism of the country. It is also the reflection of human civilization and development. Magna Carta Liberetum, 1215, Glorious Revolution of England, 1688, the Reform Act, 1867, Declaration of American Independence, 1776, and French Revolution, 1789 established founding stone for the liberalism which gradually started to influence across the globe. Ancient Greek and Roman philosopher interpreted liberalism based on law of nature and eternal law whereas Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau brought the social contract theory to reveal the degree of liberalism from the point of view of state. Enlightenment liberalism of Kant, political liberalism of John Rawls, utilitarian liberalism of Jerome Bentham and J.S. Mill, entitlement liberalism of Nozick, economic liberalism of classical economist like Adam Smith, liberalism against state monopoly and liberalism of balancing of interest are important movement of liberalism. In fact, all the traditional philosophy from natural school to realism movement supported traditional issues of liberalism in law. Moreover, International institutions i.e. IMF, World Bank Group, GATT and WTO advocated privatization, market economy, globalization and transnational economy, which established neo-liberal society. In fact, neo-liberalism was the constitution reformation movement in line of global standard accordingly. Finally, post-liberalism raised the weakness of neo-liberalism. In the name of the liberalism and neo-liberalism people are exploited and suppressed. As liberalism and neo-liberalism has further expanded the gap between have and have not, post-liberalism has been emerged to solve the problem of previous doctrines. People have to themselves find a way out to get ultimate level of emancipation rejecting previous philosophic legacy having liberty in slogan. Post-liberalism supports extreme liberty in practice. In legal philosophy, CLS movement, feminism movement and postmodernism movement are the issues of post-liberalism. Nepal faced numbers of people's movement for democracy and freedom time and again. It faced democratic movement in 1951, 1990, 2005/6 etc. Currently, it has Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS (2015 AD) which has guaranteed democracy, equality, human rights protection, religious tolerance and many more which adapts the issues of liberalism, neo-liberalism and post-liberalism. These movements of liberalism indicate the level of freedom practised in society, which represents human civilization, modernity and social harmony.

The People’s Living Guanyin Bodhisattva: Superstition, Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Rural Economic Control, and Huidaomen in the Early PRC

During the Republican era and the PRC, both regimes labeled religious practices outside official institutionalized religions as “superstition” (mixin). In the early PRC, the CCP labeled superstitious activities with mass participation as “mass superstitious incidents.” This article examines a mass superstitious incident in Chongqing in 1953 in which more than fifty thousand people participated. In this case, local residents, especially local merchants, advertised an old woman as a Living Guanyin Bodhisattva with supernatural disease-curing powers to expand their economic interests. The incident was also a result of poor healthcare infrastructure management. Key organizers in the incident were severely punished, in part because they were scapegoats for the problems of the new national policy of State Monopoly for Grain Purchase. The incident also had a strong contagion effect that led to various similar “superstitious incidents” in the vicinity that were eventually suppressed under the name “huidaomen.”

Understanding the Emergence of Authoritarian Capitalist States: Looking Backward to See Forward

This paper examines how contemporary analysts can use the analytical legacy of earlier Marxist writers on fascism and authoritarianism to understand the present. I argue that the emergence of dictatorial rule in a capitalist society once organized by parliamentary institutions can best be interpreted as a response to an intensifying crisis of representation within parliamentary democracy. These crises come as changing material conditions disrupt systems of patronage and support that had previously integrated or embedded populations into a deceptively stable capitalist growth process. This analysis draws on Marx’s original analysis in The Eighteenth Brumaire, Gramsci’s and Trotsky’s writings during the interwar period, and the early postwar analysis of Nicos Poulantzas. The article does not find the state monopoly capitalist tradition of this era to be particularly useful for understanding present (or past) periods of capitalist authoritarianism. JEL Classification: B1, B2, B3, B5

Diagnostics on characteristics of network infrastructure technology under modification of Russian natural monopoly state regulation

The process of natural monopoly Russian structure reforming and situation connected with modification the conditions of natural monopoly state regulation, list of activities and price techniques in the sphere are analyzed. There are represented the guidelines on diagnostics of infrastructure technology using natural monopoly activity indicators and taking into account network specific of transport, communications, energy and so on. Some features of realization the approaches on diagnostics and modeling natural monopoly infrastructure technologies are considered.

МОНОПОЛІСТИЧНІ ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ, ЯК ФАКТОР КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ ДЕРЖАВИ НА СВІТОВОМУ РИНКУ

© Косич М.В.,Пархоменко Т.І. Problems of monopolization of the economy, competition in commodity markets are attracting today the attention of specialists in various fields of activity. Since the moment Ukraine has gained independence, these problems have become acute for our country, because without the use of certain measures against monopoly, one can not hope for the success of economic reform and the transition to market conditions of economic activity. The positive result of economic transformations to a large extent depends on a balanced, well thought-out system of state regulation of monopoly processes and competitive relations. In our country, which inherited a number of giants-monopolists from the command and administrative system of the former USSR, the problem of monopolization of the economy and the prevention of the already existing role on the market of monopolies is becoming increasingly acute. The development of economic practice has led to the emergence of new monopolistic entities. At each stage of economic relations there were various forms of monopolization of the economy: the rise of joint-stock ownership, the strengthening of the role of banks and the development of participatory systems, monopolistic unions as a means of centralizing capital, the development of forms of capitalist enterprises and the emergence of new forms of association.The further development of monopolistic associations makes a leap in the second half of the 20th century, when large enterprises go beyond the domestic market and gain world markets through the formation of transnational corporations. In economic literature, scholars express two points of view regarding the causes and factors of the emergence of monopolies. Representatives of the first point of view argue that monopolies are random entities in market conditions of management. And supporters of the opposite point of view believe that monopolies are formed, as a result of the evolutionary process, that is logical. To date, there is a rather high level of monopolization of the economy in Ukraine. State monopolies lobby for their interests and receive various privileges from the state or local authorities, which leads to the formation of unequal conditions of competition between participants in one market. The problems created by the highly monopolized economy of Ukraine can only be solved by increasing competition.

La autoridad, el pánico y la beligerancia. Políticas de orden público y violencia política en la España del Frente Popular

This article analyses the relationship between public order policies and the increase of political violence that took place in Spain between February and July 1936. The reestablishment of a reformist and less repressive policy paradoxically stimulated the development of four causal factors of violence: government delegitimisation, politicisation of the public order administration, de-authorisation of police forces, and privatisation of the political use of force. Since May, the Casares Government tried to solve the problem by intensifying the persecution of Falangist terrorism, decelerating the republicanisation of the police, reestablishing the principle of authority, and recovering the control of public order resources. Nevertheless, although these measures significantly reduced the number of mortal victims, the political violence remained considerably high, the military went on conspiring, and the State did not recover the monopoly of lethal coercion. This period concluded with Calvo Sotelo’s murder and the military rebellion, which was supported at least by half of the police forces as a reaction not only against the dangerous situation of public order, but also against the democratising policies that had undermined their authority and the state monopoly of the use of violence.

How the normative resistance of anarchism shaped the state monopoly on violence

Rather than an assumption of statehood, the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force is better understood as a normative ideal that regulates behavior, and constitutes states as the sole legitimate authority on violence. Existing literature on this norm has explored its development in response to piracy in the early to mid-1800s, but it has overlooked significant developments that occurred in response to the violence of transnational anarchist terrorism. Anarchist philosophers in the late 1800s resisted the normative basis of the state monopoly on violence and articulated their own competing claims. While their normative ideas failed to gain widespread acceptance, they elicited significant responses by states. In the Rome Conference of 1898 and the St. Petersburg Protocol, states reiterated the constitutive aspects of the state monopoly norm, and articulated new, deeper obligations to coordinate anti-anarchist policies. State officials considered a protean form of collective security against the anarchists, and applied the state monopoly norm to the control of the violence of individual, rather than corporate, non-state actors for the first time. Similar to trends identified in existing literature on the state monopoly norm, this article notes that the response to the anarchists was bolstered by their perception as “outsiders of authority,” or violators of core constitutive norms of state authority. This trend and these broader historical dynamics are explained with reference to theoretical literature on normative resistance.