The Interplay between International Trade and Technological Change and the wage inequality in the OECD Countries

We estimate the impact of international trade and of trade-induced technological change on the wage inequality in the OECD countries, by estimating a two-stage mandated-wage regression. From our estimation we find no evidence on the Stolper-Samuelson effect of trade with the developing and newly industrialized countries. On the other hand, the evidenced technological change from technological competition did not have a strong effect on the increase of the wage differential between the different types of labour in the analyzed sample of OECD countries, which would have indicated that the bias of the technological change towards the skilled-intensive sectors is determined by trade in innovation-intensive goods.price competition, technological competition, wage inequality

The effects of internationalisation on domestic labour demand by skills : Firm-level evidence for Belgium

We empirically investigate the effects of the internationalisation of Belgian firms on domestic demand for production and non-production workers, which are used as proxies for unskilled and skilled labour. Distinction is made between home-employment effects of firms’ internationalisation, through either international trade or outward foreign direct investment, in highincome countries and in low-income economies. The results of our econometric analysis, using data over 1997-2007, suggest that increasing import shares from low-income countries or investing in those countries significantly reduces demand for low-skilled labour, while it increases demand for skilled labour. An increase in exports generally raises the demand for production workers, while it reduces the demand for non-production workers. However, these effects are reversed in the case of exports to low-income countries. Considering the impact of FDI, our results tentatively suggest that the setting up of a new international investment project has a positive impact on demand for non-production workers one period before it is made. This positive effect is offset in the long run, particularly in the case of investment in low-income countries.labour demand, international trade, outward FDI, skilled and unskilled labour

The EU as a Confederal Union of Sovereign Member Peoples: Exploring the potential of American (con)federalism and popular sovereignty for a constitutional theory of the EU

This thesis explores a conception of the EU as a modified confederal system of sovereign member peoples and their states. A confederal conception which demonstrates how, contrary to popular belief, European integration does not conflict with sovereignty or democracy. For, properly conceived and constituted, the EU reasserts the sovereignty of the member peoples, and liberates national democracy from the confines of the state. To this end, this thesis reconnects the EU to two classic constructs of constitutional theory: confederalism and sovereignty. Two powerful but unfashionable constructs whose joint potential for European integration remains largely unexplored and undervalued. The primary instrument to explore this potential is comparative. The EU is contrasted with the rather unknown but rich example of the American Articles of Confederation, and their evolution into the now famous American federate system. A comparison with the confederal roots of the United States which is revealing for both confederalism and sovereignty, and illustrates the potential of linking both for a constructive constitutional theory of the EU. A theory which does not have to overcome history and the statal system it has created, but connects with it. A theory, therefore, that may help to recapture the EU and the increasing authority it wields, both in theory and in practise.  The thesis is subdivided in three parts. Part I addresses confederalism. It demonstrates how the constitutional system of the EU combines a confederal foundation with a federate superstructure, and explores the particular strengths, weaknesses and limits of this modified confederal system. Part II discusses sovereignty. It first demonstrates how the EU forms a logical confederal evolution of popular sovereignty, and how European integration does not conflict with sovereignty. Subsequently, it shows how the concept of confederal sovereignty equally helps to dispel the presumed conflict between statism and pluralism, how it respects and conciliates national and EU claims to supremacy, and how it allows a confederal evolution of national democracy, which updates democracy to the global reality it is to control. Part III applies the findings of Part I and II to the EMU crisis and the challenge of establishing an effective democratic foundation for the EU at the national level. An application which demonstrates the concrete and attractive contributions a confederal approach can make to addressing some of the core challenges facing the EU.Book (monograph

Stock Market Development and Economic Growth in Belgium

This paper investigates the long-term relationship between financial market development and economic development in Belgium. We use a new data set of stock market development indicators to argue that financial market development substantially affected economic growth. We find strong evidence that stock market development caused economic growth in Belgium, especially in the period between 1873 and 1935. Institutional changes affecting the stock exchange explain the time-varying nature of the link between stock market development and economic growth

Naar een symbiotisch constitutioneel recht voor de EU: de conceptuele, emotionele en juridische ruimte voor legitieme regionale samenwerking

Oratie uitgesproken door Prof.dr.mr. Armin Cuyvers bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van HoogleraarEuropees Recht aan de Universiteit Leiden op vrijdag 9 december 2022Oratie uitgesproken door Prof.dr.mr. Armin Cuyvers bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van Hoogleraar Europees Recht aan de Universiteit Leiden op vrijdag 9 december 2022The progression of EU law: Accommodating change and upholding value

Participation narratives of Third Age adults:Their activities, motivations and expectations regarding civil society organisations

Third Age adults leaving the labour market are not only armed with broad experience and multiple competencies but also find themselves free of professional obligations while still physically sound. The general theory of Third Age of Laslett sheds a new light on characteristics of ageing adults and their role in society. They are able to engage in society in ways inaccessible to previous generations of older adults. According to Laslett, combining a myriad personal strengths and being free of professional obligations they are challenged to make Third Age a time of personal development by making choices of engagement and civic contribution. To enlighten these issues, this qualitative study focuses on how and under what conditions 23 Third Agers invest their strengths in unpaid societal and social participation. Their narratives reveal three types of involvement: holistic, inhibited and social consumerist. The holistic pattern and, to a lesser extent, the inhibition pattern meet the expectations of Laslett about the Third Age. The social consumerist pattern, on the other hand, rather refers to disengagement. These observations imply that to facilitate the societal engagement and social participation of this population, civil society organisations need to rethink their goals, activities and procedures

The legal catch-22 of a CETA-Brexit: either too little or too much to avoid a pretty hard Brexit

The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Barnier recently stated that the ‘Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement’ (CETA) between the EU and Canada is the only feasible model left for Brexit. If this is so, it is bad news. Inevitably, a CETA-Brexit will be much closer to a hard Brexit than to the glorious bespoken deal promised by May.This contribution first sets out the problems a CETA-Brexit is supposed to fix, and then outlines several legal reasons why CETA cannot do so.The progression of EU law: Accommodating change and upholding value