Tobacco industry globalization and global health governance: : towards an interdisciplinary research agenda

Shifting patterns of tobacco production and consumption, and the resultant disease burden worldwide since the late twentieth century prompted efforts to strengthen global health governance through adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. While the treaty is rightfully considered an important achievement, to address a neglected public health issue through collective action, evidence suggests that tobacco industry globalization continues apace. In this article we provide a systematic review of the public health literature and reveal definitional and measurement imprecision, ahistorical timeframes, transnational tobacco companies and the state as the primary units and levels of analysis, and a strong emphasis on agency as opposed to structural power. Drawing on the study of globalization in international political economy and business studies, we identify opportunities to expand analysis along each of these dimensions. We conclude that this expanded and interdisciplinary research agenda provides the potential for fuller understanding of the dual and dynamic relationship between the tobacco industry and globalization. Deeper analysis of how the industry has adapted to globalization over time, as well as how the industry has influenced the nature and trajectory of globalization, is essential for building effective global governance responses

Information asymmetries in banking and financial contracts: possible solutions from legal design.

In banking the strength of the Credit Institution is manifested in relation to the customer, who therefore assumes the role of a weak contractor, deserving of particular protection. Awareness of the characteristics of the products offered by banks, the comparison between the different services offered on the market and the opportunity to make an informed choice are all consequences linked to the information that is made available. Such information is above all unclear, so much so as to make it difficult to effectively evaluate the convenience of the operations and services offered. Specific rules are envisaged that intervene in the various phases in which the bank-customer relationship is divided. But it almost always happens that the documentation prepared by intermediaries is difficult to read and understand due to their technicality or to the use of a language that is not always easily understood. Everything described falls within the general discipline of banking and financial contracts which is today extremely complex, requires a particular study analysis of the various sectors governed by practices and regulatory interventions that are not always clear to customers and which should, instead, be made accessible through new solutions proposed by the world of legal design