The Reverse Talmud Rule for Bankruptcy Problems

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An analysis of dynamic bankruptcy problems

In this paper, we analyse Pareto optimal and strategy-proof allocation rules on the dynamic bankruptcy domain. We first develop a model in which dynamic bankruptcy problems are defined. We then redefine the well-known axioms of the classical bankruptcy literature for the dynamic case. In our analysis, for simplicity, two agents and two periods are considered. We first characterize Pareto optimal allocations on the dynamic bankruptcy domain. The main result of the paper characterizes the Pareto optimal and strategy-proof allocation rules on the same domain

Water and benefit sharing in transboundary river basins

Le partage équitable des bénéfices dans les bassins fluviaux transfrontaliers est nécessaire pour résoudre les conflits entre les pays riverains et atteindre un consensus sur les activités de développement et de gestion du bassin versant. Le partage des bénéfices doit être discuté collectivement par tous les pays riverains pour être perçu non seulement comme efficace, mais aussi équitable. La littérature actuelle décrit principalement ce que l’on entend par le partage des bénéfices d’un point de vue conceptuel. Les arrangements institutionnels pratiques qui assurent le bien-être économique maximal, ainsi que les méthodes développées en collaboration pour encourager le partage équitable des bénéfices, ne sont toutefois pas présentés. L’objectif global de ce projet de thèse est de développer un arrangement institutionnel, qui comprend à la fois des politiques de répartition de l’eau et des mécanismes de partage des bénéfices, afin d’améliorer la gestion des ressources en eau transfrontalières et d’encourager la coopération entre les pays riverains. La méthodologie étend l’approche traditionnelle, basée sur des stratégies d’allocation très limitées en allouant efficacement les ressources en eau et le partage équitable des bénéfices découlant de l’utilisation de l’eau. Cette thèse détaille l’arrangement institutionnel développé et, à travers trois activités distinctes, les principales composantes de l’arrangement sont analysés. Dans l’arrangement institutionnel, une autorité de bassin fluvial (RBA) est l’opérateur d’un système axé sur le marché, dans lequel les politiques d’allocation économiquement efficaces sont identifiées et imposées aux usagers de l’eau, qui doit payer pour l’eau qui leur est alloué. Ces frais sont collectés et redistribués, via une règle de partage spécifique au bassin fluvial, afin d’assurer l’équité entre les usagers de l’eau. Le bassin du Nil oriental est utilisé comme étude de cas pour illustrer l’approche. Il y a des secteurs hydroélectriques et agricoles répartis dans trois pays (Egypte, Soudan et Ethiopie) et une longue histoire de non-coopération dans ce bassin. La répartition actuelle de l’eau repose sur des accords bilatéraux de l’époque coloniale, qui désignent l’Egypte et le Soudan comme les seuls bénéficiaires des eaux du Nil. La coopération future est impérative dans ce bassin pour profiter du potentiel hydroélectrique en Ethiopie, et du potentiel de l’agriculture au Soudan, ainsi que pour atténuer, autant que possible, les effets du changement climatique. Les résultats montrent que la gestion coopérative du bassin du Nil oriental, et de son infrastructure, augmenterait considérablement les bénéfices économiques à l’échelle du bassin et entraiînerait une répartition de l’eau plus efficace. L’arrangement institutionnel garantit que l’eau est retirée ouù elle a la plus grande valeur et que les investissements en amont dans des projets à faible productivité sont découragés. Le plus haut niveau de coopération est effectuée en vertu d’une institution supranationale et toutes les parties doivent se mettre d’accord sur la définition de l’équité dans le le partage des bénéfices. L’imposition d’axiomes spécifiques sur la base de cette vision collaborative de l’équité se traduit par une solution unique pour la répartition des bénéfices économiques. Une règle de partage élaborée avec la participation des parties prenantes peut être plus acceptable parce que la définition de la règle n’est pas contestée, comme ce serait le cas si les règles existantes avaientété appliquées avec leurs propres définitions de l’équité. Enfin, les résultats globaux montrent que la réalisation de compromis entre l’efficacité et l’équité peut se produire lorsque ces deux principes de répartition de l’eau sont couplés afin de maximiser les avantages de l’utilisation de l’eau, puis de réaffecter ces d’une manière équitable.The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to solve disputes among riparian countries and to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit-sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived not only as efficient, but also as equitable, and to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature mainly describes what is meant by the term benefit sharing, in the context of transboundary river basins, and discusses this from a conceptual point of view. Practical, institutional arrangements that ensure maximum economic welfare, as well as collaboratively developed methods for encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits, are, however, not provided. The overall objective of this PhD project was to develop an institutional arrangement, that includes both water allocation policies and benefit-sharing mechanisms, to improve the sustainability of managing transboundary water resources and to encourage cooperation between riparian states. The methodology extends the traditional approach, which is based on highly constrained allocation policies, that merely complement existing management institutions, by efficiently allocating water resources and then equitably sharing the benefits derived from water use. This thesis details the institutional arrangement developed and, through three separate activities, the main components of the arrangement are analyzed. A river basin authority (RBA) is the operator of a market-based system, in which economically efficient allocation policies are identified and imposed on water users, who are charged for the water allocated to them. These charges are collected and redistributed, via a sharing rule specific to the river basin, to ensure equity among the water users. The Eastern Nile River Basin is used as the case study to illustrate the approach. There are important hydropower and agricultural sectors spread across three countries (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia), and there is a long history of non-cooperation in this river basin. Current water allocation is based on colonial era bilateral agreements that designate Egypt and Sudan as the only beneficiaries of the Nile waters. Future cooperation is imperative, in this basin, to take advantage of hydropower potential in Ethiopia, and agriculture potential in Sudan, as well as to mitigate, as much as possible, the effects of climate change in the near future. Results reveal that the cooperative management of the Eastern Nile River Basin and its infrastructure would significantly increase the basin-wide economic benefits and lead to more efficient water allocation. The institutional arrangement ensures that water is withdrawn where it has the greatest value (efficient water allocation is established) and that upstream investments in low productivity projects are discouraged. The highest level of cooperation is effectuated through a supranational institution and all parties must agree on the definition of fairness in the sharing of benefits.The imposition of specific axioms, based on this agreedupon vision of fairness results in a unique solution for the distribution of economic benefits. A sharing rule developed with stakeholder input may be more acceptable because the definition of the rule is not in question, as would be the case if existing rules were applied with their inherent definitions of equity. Finally, overall results show that achieving trade-offs between efficiency and equity can occur when these two principles of water allocation are coupled to first maximize the benefits from water use and then reallocate these in an equitable manner

A Comparative Study on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Patent Law in the United States, the European Patent Organization, and China

With the recent developments in biotechnology, associated patent law issues have been a growing concern since the 1980s. Among all the subcategories within the general field of biotechnology, human embryonic stem cell research, as one of the most controversial, is receiving different patent system treatment in different countries. China explicitly opposes the patentability of hESCs in its patent regulations on the basis that patenting hESCs is contrary to morality and the public interest. Similarly, the EPO, relying on ambiguous language in the European Patent Convention [EPC], excludes hESCs from patentability by broadly interpreting the morality clause of the EPC. In contrast, the United States has become the main progenitor of hESC patents. By analyzing the reasons to grant or deny patents on hESCs, and considering patent law doctrines and justifications, this dissertation reaches two conclusions. First, patent law should not include a morality clause and should only take into consideration technical concerns. Moral issues should be left to other mechanisms such as administrative law. This is an approach deeply rooted in the American patent system, but not in China or the EPO. Second, by reviewing the requirements of patentability such as novelty, non-obviousness and utility, it can be concluded that hESCs themselves are not patentable because they lack a specific concrete utility and, since they already exist in nature, they lack novelty as well. However, hESC production processes and derivative products are patentable

The Jews in a Polish Private Town

Winner of the Montreal Jewish Public Library's J. I. Segal PrizeOriginally published in 1991. In the eighteenth century, more than half of the world's Jewish population lived in Polish private villages and towns owned by magnate-aristocrats. Furthermore, roughly half of Poland's entire urban population was Jewish. Thus, the study of Jews in private Polish towns is central to both Jewish history and to the history of Poland-Lithuania. The Jews in a Polish Private Town seeks to investigate the social, economic, and political history of Jews in Opatów, a private Polish town, in the context of an increasing power and influence of private towns at the expense of the Polish crown and gentry in the eighteenth century. Hundert recovers an important community from historical obscurity by providing a balanced perspective on the Jewish experience in the Polish Commonwealth and by describing the special dimensions of Jewish life in a private town

Interpreting Code Enforcement Complaint by Complaint: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Experience in Document Analysis

The current hermeneutic phenomenological study was completed to provide direction for the content analysis of code enforcement complaint documents by municipal code enforcement agencies. This hermeneutic interpretive research was conducted using qualitative content analysis of greater than 500 code enforcement complaint documents submitted to a municipal code enforcement agency over 12 months. The phenomenological research was guided by the following research questions: 1.What indicators are identified by content analysis in a complaint document received from the community of shareholders of a municipal code enforcement agency? 2. What manner of delivery of a complaint document is most frequently exercised by the shareholders of a municipal code enforcement agency? 3. What may the frequency of violations recognized in complaint documents inform a municipal government of a community and its needs? 4. How may a municipal government advance the results of a content analysis of code enforcement complaint documents towards promoting improvements in a community? The theories of symbolic interactionism and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) were used within the methodological paradigms of hermeneutics and phenomenology to understand the function and experience of a complaint document within the code enforcement system and its shareholders. The findings of this research identify how the content analysis of code enforcement complaints can reveal and prioritize the needs, threats, and trends that impact a community and lead to municipal programs that focus on those community issues with collaborative conflict resolution programs that can improve the sense of community for its shareholders, its government and the field of conflict resolution

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