Governance and Regulation of Ride-hailing Services in Emerging Markets: Challenges, Experiences and Implications

This paper seeks to shed some light on the different considerations for regulation and governance of ride-hailing platforms in emerging markets, highlighting their positive and negative externalities. Building on an extensive review of the literature and secondary sources, we outline Ride-hailing's identified and potential effects on users (providers and consumers), incumbents, and society. Based on the welfare impacts structure, we identify the significant challenges that regulators face in understanding, monitoring, evaluating, and regulating this type of transportation innovation. Finally, the paper proposes a framework for approaching such mobility innovations from governance and regulation perspectives. In a context of exponential growth in research and innovation in urban mobility in general and Ride-hailing, a rigorous review of the literature and a critical framework for understanding governance and regulation in such services in rapidly changing contexts is a timely contribution

Russia in Transition

The history of transition in Russia is analyzed in this paper. Issues ranging from managerial incentives to the changing structure of trade are considered in an attempt to present a comprehensive sketch of the state of the Russian economy. The transition in Russia can be compared with demobilization. Demobilization process is often accompanied by large output declines. For instance, during the post World War II demobilization the US GNP declined by 25%. In light of this, the great contraction of the Russian economy does not appear to be a major outlier when the militaristic nature of the Soviet economy is taken into account. We point out a previously unexplored factor detrimental for incentives of Russian managers, which we call soft taxation. Soft taxation is a free market analog of soft-budget constraints. Due to the inefficiency of institutions, managers have an incentive to take costly actions in order to signal that the profitability of the firm is low. Also, we suggest a few indices of aggregate economic shocks including one based on the structure of foreign trade. The values of the indices of aggregate shocks for the Russian economy are compared to those of several other countries. The data seem to indicate that the changes in the structure of Russian trade have been far greater than in non-transition economies. However, other indices of economic adjustment do not paint a picture of a rapid transition.

Traditional and Innovative Approaches to Legal Reform: 'The New Company Law'

In this paper, we have distinguished three different positions along the reform strategy spectrum of company law. The first position is located on the left side of the spectrum and closest to stasis - where virtually no effective legal changes can occur and where only the idea of reform clashes with legal tradition and standardization pressures. An example of a jurisdiction that takes this position is Germany. Along or near the mid-point of the spectrum, company law changes are less impeded by tradition and standardization factors, but more influenced by interest group pressures. We see England occupying this position. Japan can be seen as a more adaptable jurisdiction located toward the right end of the spectrum and therefore better able to create and introduce more functional legal rules and institutions that turn the traditional view of company law around. It is submitted that Singapore is located on the right side of the spectrum as its legislature is aware of the need to adapt the legal system to international business practices in order to develop a distinct jurisprudence, acclaimed for its efficiency and integrity, which is set apart from the English legal system.Length: 36 pages

End(s) of the Harmonization in the European Union: Centrifuging or Engineering?

© 2021 Penn State University Press. All rights reserved. This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The European Union (EU) harmonization has an evolving and dynamic nature. Different theoretical approaches (e.g., regulatory competition, coevolution, reflexive harmonization) are often echoed to delve into the EU harmonization. This article, going through these theories, endeavors to explain the harmonization discourse in the EU with a focus on the electronic communications sector. To understand the trajectory of the EU harmonization in this sector, two areas (“network access” and “spectrum regulation”) are selected as the subject-matter of the research. In conclusion, the legislative steps taken so far are found to restrict regulatory experimentation and innovation that this sector needs in the face of increasing challenges.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The New Energy System in the Mexican Constitution

This study analyzes the new legal framework and definitions governing Mexico's energy sector as a result of the constitutional reform, and the implications for the hydrocarbons and electrical sectors. This paper is part of a Baker Institute Mexico Center research project examining the rule of law in Mexico (https://www.bakerinstitute.org/the-rule-of-law/) and the challenges it poses to implementing the country's energy reform

Pathways to Industrialization and Regional Development

The world has seen a shift in socio-economic relations, in the patterns and processes of industrialization and regional development. The social regulation of the economic order, flexible production organization and industrial district formation have brought periods, places and pathways to the heart of economic debate. Pathways to Industrialization and Regional Development provides a platform from which to address a new economic order. All the major schools of thought are represented. Focussing upon the interactions between economic logic and political institutions at both the local and global levels, the authors set the agenda for the 1990s