The Diffusion of Impact Assessment Practices in Europe

The diffusion of the use of various forms of impact assessments (IAs) in different political settings and legal traditions illustrates the great malleability of the tool. This diversity is not only reflected in the adoption of different models of IA across the various jurisdictions examined, but also in the way this practice is effectively implemented. Factors explaining the various types of IA implemented in various European jurisdictions include the patterns of diffusion from one country to another, the interaction of politics with expert knowledge and the prevailing “evidence eco-system” in each jurisdiction. In this study we explore diffusion patterns, not only in terms of the adoption of the tool of IA, but also in terms of the specific types of IA implemented. We do so by introducing a taxonomy developed with the purpose to describe the interaction of politics and expertise in each jurisdiction. The last part of the chapter empirically connects the diffusion process with the type of IA prevalent in a jurisdiction

Ecosystems and competition law in theory and practice

One of the most profound changes in the industrial landscape in the last decade has been the growth of business ecosystems—groups of connected firms, drawing on (digital) platforms that leverage their complementors and lock in their customers, exploiting the “bottlenecks” that emerge in new industry architectures. This has created new asymmetries of power, where the “field” of competition is not the relevant product market, as is usually the case in competition law, but rather the ecosystem of various complementary products and associated complementor firms. These dynamics raise novel concerns over competition. After examining the foundational elements of the ecosystem concept, we review how ecosystems are addressed within the current scope of competition law and identify the gap in the existing framework of conventional competition law. We then move to a critical review of current efforts and proposals in the European Union for providing regulatory remedies for ex ante and ex post resolution of problems, focusing on the current (2020) proposals of the Digital Market Act on ex ante regulation, with its particular focus on “gatekeepers.” We also review recent regulatory initiatives in European countries that focus on ex post regulation and on the role of business models and ecosystem architectures in regulation before providing a deep dive into proposed Greek legislation that explicitly focuses on ecosystem regulation. We conclude with our observations on the challenges in instituting and implementing a regulatory framework for ecosystems, drawing on research and our own engagement in the regulatory process

Regulating platforms and ecosystems: an introduction

Digital technologies and modular production methods have led to the emergence of a new generation of global leaders which cement their market position by orchestrating digital platforms and ecosystems of complementors, which offer them new ways to create and capture value that often transcend the boundaries of existing sectors. Their business models, built on intangibles such as software code and access to data, support expansion that is both breathtakingly rapid and effectively costless. With capital markets all too willing to invest in these firms’ growth, and regulators unable to rein them in, these firms have been able to accumulate unprecedented power and wealth, with profound implications for competition, the economy, and society itself. This special issue confronts the challenge of regulating platforms and ecosystems head-on, revisiting the economic, strategic, and legal foundations that enable us to detect and redress issues of dominance and competition and address questions of the appropriate conception of and limits of the law. The papers included cover topics including the true nature of competition with an emphasis on dynamics and innovation, new approaches for legal and economic analysis including the alternatives for the “welfare criterion” and the protection of sunk investments, the approaches to take on tech mergers and acquisitions, the virtues and limits of self-regulation, the potential for radical breakups of Big Tech, and the issues of data, when privacy protection and competition steer us in different directions. Contributors also weigh up the case for regulatory intervention, the practical challenges involved, and the future state that we hope such actions will bring about

The precautions of clinical waste: disposable medical sharps in the United Kingdom

This article deals with recent changes in UK guidance on clinical waste, in particular a shift to disposable, single-use instruments and sharps. I use interviews conducted with nurses from a GP practice and two clinical waste managers at alternative treatment and incineration sites as a springboard for reflection on the relationship between the legislation on clinical waste management and its implementation. Scrutinizing the UK guidance, European legislation and World Health Organization principles, I draw out interviewees’ concerns that the changed practices lead to an expansion of the hazardous waste category, with an increased volume going to incineration. This raises questions regarding the regulations’ environmental and health effects, and regarding the precautionary approach embedded in the regulations. Tracing the diverse reverberations of the term ‘waste’ in different points along the journeys made by sharps in particular, and locating these questions in relation to existing literature on waste, I emphasize that public health rationales for the new practices are not made clear in the guidance. I suggest that this relative silence on the subject conceals both the uncertainties regarding the necessity for these means of managing the risks of infectious waste, and the tensions between policies of precautionary public health and environmental sustainability

Portuguese emigration to Angola (2000-2015): Strengthening a specific postcolonial relationship in a new global framework?

Outflows to the Portuguese-speaking countries, although not dominant, played an important role in the growth of Portuguese emigration during the economic recession and austerity period, between 2010 and 2016. This chapter examines this migration process, considering that contemporary migration from Portugal to Angola is an example of reverse post-colonial migration within the framework of North-South movements. It presents the historical and socio-demographic background of Angola and some theoretical insights on the issue of North-South migration. The analyses of the migration process and the emigrants’ profiles rely in statistics and academic literature but especially on data gathered in a direct survey. Attention is given to indicators of integration, relations with Portugal and the post-colonial nature of the process. The profile of Portuguese in Angola shows an overrepresentation of highly skilled males over 35 years old, which migrated for professional reasons and sustain relations with Portugal through diverse transnational practices. This supports explanations for the emergence of North-South migration by appeal to economic expansion associated to the increasing insertion of several developing countries into global networks. However, the analysis fails to back up the hypothesis that Portuguese emigration to Angola is a form of reverse post-colonial migration based in ancestral return.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Software-sorted geographies.

This paper explores the central role of computerized code in shaping the social and geographical politics of inequality in advanced societies. The central argument is that, while such processes are necessarily multifaceted, multiscaled, complex and ambivalent, a great variety of ‘software-sorting’ techniques is now being widely applied in efforts to try to separate privileged and marginalized groups and places across a wide range of sectors and domains. This paper’s central demonstration is that the overwhelming bulk of software-sorting applications is closely associated with broader transformations from Keynesian to neoliberal service regimes. To illustrate such processes of software-sorting, the paper analyses recent research addressing three examples of software-sorting in practice. These address physical and electronic mobility systems, online geographical information systems (GIS), and face-recognition closed circuit television (CCTV) systems covering city streets. The paper finishes by identifying theoretical, research and policy implications of the diffusion of software-sorted geographies within which computerized code continually orchestrates inequalities through technological systems embedded within urban environments

Social cohesion and the notion of 'suspect communities': A study of the experiences and impacts of being 'suspect' for Irish communities and Muslim communities in Britain

In this article, we consider how the practice of conceiving of groups within civil society as 'communities' meshes with conceptualisations of certain populations as 'suspect' and consider some of the impacts and consequences of this for particular populations and for social cohesion. We examine how Irish and Muslim people in Britain have become aware of and have experienced themselves to be members of 'suspect communities' in relation to political violence and counterterrorism policies from 1974 to 2007 and investigate the impacts of these experiences on their everyday lives. The study focuses on two eras of political violence. The first coincides with the Irish Republican Army's (IRA) bombing campaigns in England between 1973 and 1996, when the perpetrators were perceived as 'Irish terrorists'; and the second since 2001, when, in Britain and elsewhere, the main threat of political violence has been portrayed as stemming from people who are assumed to be motivated by extreme interpretations of Islam and are often labelled as 'Islamic terrorists'. We outline why the concept of 'suspect communities' continues to be analytically useful for examining: the impact of 'bounded communities' on community cohesion policies; the development of traumatogenic environments and their ramifications; and for examining how lessons might be learnt from one era of political violence to another, especially as regards the negative impacts of practices of suspectification on Irish communities and Muslim communities. The research methods included discussion groups involving Irish and Muslim people. These demonstrated that with the removal of discourses of suspicion the common ground of Britain's urban multiculture was a sufficient basis for sympathetic exchanges. © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Marx e a divisão do lucro médio em lucro do empresário e juro

A concepção da divisão qualitativa do lucro médio em lucro do empresário e juro foi um importante feito teórico de Marx, pois permitiu fundamentar de modo coerente a conceituação do juro como parte da mais-valia, uma vez constituída a taxa média de lucro e sua materialização no lucro médio de cada capital. O objetivo deste artigo é desenvolver e formalizar algumas implicações desta conceituação, em alguns casos à primeira vista desconcertantes. A extensão e a formalização das implicações da divisão do lucro médio, elaboradas por Hilferding, com base nas indicações de Marx, permitiram revelar um novo ângulo do papel do sistema de crédito como potencializador do processo de acumulação. Demonstra-se no artigo que a taxa simples de lucro do empresário perde relevância como indicador de rentabilidade dos capitais, e propõe-se e fundamenta-se a utilização de novo indicador, ao mesmo tempo em que é apontada a relevância de um novo e decisivo fator na análise teórica das taxas de lucro dos capitais individuais