Changes to Wage-Setting Mechanisms in the Context of the Crisis and the EU\u27s New Economic Governance Regime

This report explores the impact of the crisis on wage-setting mechanisms in the 28 EU Member States plus Norway. It also examines the impact of the EU’s new economic governance regime – specifically the requirements of the country-specific recommendations and Memoranda of Understanding – on wage-setting mechanisms. It looks at changes in wage bargaining levels, the extent of horizontal coordination across bargaining units, links between the different levels involved in wage-setting, minimum wage-setting and indexation mechanisms, and the volume and duration of collective wage agreements. The report examines the factors influencing changes, chiefly economic and political ones, and addresses the role of different institutional actors in initiating and implementing changes, including the social partners, national governments and the European and international institutions. Overall, the extent and consequences of change in wage-setting has been greatest among the countries receiving financial assistance packages from the troika of European and international institutions

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

OTC derivatives: financial stability challenges and responses from authorities.

The importance of well-functioning over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets for fi nancial stability was highlighted during the financial market turmoil, when significant shortcomings in risk management and market transparency were exposed. In response to these experiences, public authorities have launched a series of measures to strengthen OTC derivatives markets. This article provides an overview of this work. It explains the significance of well-functioning OTC derivatives markets and discusses the main lessons from the financial crisis regarding the need to strengthen their resiliency and transparency. Then, we describe the main tools under consideration, relating to the use of sound market infrastructures – central counterparties and trade repositories –, enhanced bilateral risk management as well as to cooperation between regulators and overseers of infrastructures and banking supervisors. We finally describe the state of play of the main initiatives within these areas.

The role of electronic payments in disaster recovery: providing more than convenience

On May 3-4, 2006, the Payment Cards Center hosted a two-day conference titled “The Role of Electronic Payments in Disaster Recovery: Providing More Than Convenience.” The event brought together participants from a range of groups, including financial institutions and other financial service providers; federal and state government and national relief agencies; and the bank regulatory community. Participants examined the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and considered how these experiences may be useful in identifying opportunities to further strengthen the financial system’s response to future catastrophic events.Disaster relief

Building Australia’s comparative advantages

This discussion paper, Building Australia’s Comparative Advantages, builds on the work of the BCA’s 2013 Action Plan for Enduring Prosperity. It seeks to start a conversation about what it will take to build an innovative economy, foster globally competitive industries and identify the types of jobs that can be created in an advanced economy like Australia. The paper focuses on actions government can take to foster an innovative and dynamic economy. The Business Council of Australia will facilitate further discussion on what businesses can do to come to terms with a global marketplace. We will also examine in detail the challenges that each sector faces to becoming globally competitive

Helping the poor manage risk better : the role of social funds

Recent trends in trade, technology, and politics have created new opportunities for global welfare improvement, but have also increased risks. This challenge requires rethinking social protection, and its instruments, particularly social funds. This paper reviews social funds, and suggests future directions by using a"social risk management"framework, to examine how social funds can help the poor manage risk better. Risk management covers risk reduction, risk mitigation, and risk coping. Analyzing social funds within the social risk management framework, suggests that: they should be assessed as one of many components in countries'social risk management strategies; they should move from coping and mitigation, to risk reduction; they should focus more on the medium term impact of projects; their targeting should focus on vulnerability, and vulnerable groups; their"investment menus"should be expanded to include more risk reduction projects; and, more emphasis should be given to participation, and capacity building.Banks&Banking Reform,Social Risk Management,Environmental Economics&Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction,Safety Nets and Transfers