17 research outputs found

    Agenda control in EU referendum campaigns : the power of the anti-EU side

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    European Union (EU) referendums provide unique opportunities to study voters’ attitudes toward a distant level of governance. Scholars have long tried to understand whether EU referendum results reflect domestic (dis-)satisfaction with the incumbent governments or actual attitudes toward the Union. Finding evidence supporting both domestic and European factors, the recent focus has thus turned to referendum campaigns. Recent studies emphasise the importance of the information provided to voters during these campaigns in order to analyse how domestic or European issues become salient in the minds of voters. These studies nonetheless overlook the asymmetrical political advantage in such campaigns. The broader literature on referendums and public opinion suggest that in a referendum, the ‘No’ side typically has the advantage since it can boost the public's fears by linking the proposal to unpopular issues. This article explores whether this dynamic applies to EU treaty ratification referendums. Does the anti-EU treaty campaign have more advantage than the pro-EU treaty campaign in these referendums? Campaign strategies in 11 EU treaty ratification referendums are analysed, providing a clear juxtaposition between pro-treaty (‘Yes’) and anti-treaty (‘No’) campaigns. Based on 140 interviews with campaigners in 11 referendums, a series of indicators on political setting and campaign characteristics, as well as an in-depth case study of the 2012 Irish Fiscal Compact referendum, it is found that the anti-treaty side indeed holds the advantage if it engages the debate. Nonetheless, the findings also show that this advantage is not unconditional. The underlying mechanism rests on the multidimensionality of the issue. The extent to which the referendum debate includes a large variety of ‘No’ campaign arguments correlates strongly with the campaigners’ perceived advantage/disadvantage, and the referendum results. When the ‘No’ side's arguments are limited (either through a single-issue treaty or guarantees from the EU), this provides the ‘Yes’ side with a ‘cleaner’ agenda with which to work. Importantly, the detailed data demonstrate that the availability of arguments is important for the ‘Yes’ side as well. They tend to have the most advantage when they can tap into the economic costs of an anti-EU vote. This analysis has implications for other kinds of EU referendums such as Brexit, non-EU referendums such as independence referendums, and the future of European integration

    A definição de activos nas estruturas conceptuais da informação financeira

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    As estruturas conceptuais da informação financeira têm procurado definir, nomeadamente, os objectivos subjacentes à preparação e apresentação da informação financeira, as características qualitativas dessa informação, os elementos das demonstrações financeiras e os critérios para o seu reconhecimento e mensuração. Neste trabalho, procura-se mostrar quais são as questões mais importantes a serem resolvidas na definição dos elementos das demonstrações financeiras e a forma como as principais estruturas conceptuais lidaram com elas, designadamente no que diz respeito à definição de activos. Identifica-se uma evolução na definição de activos, argumentando-se que a definição apresentada pelo Accounting Standards Board do Reino Unido é a mais adequada das apresentadas até ao momento.<br>Conceptual framework documents deal with the objectives of financial reporting, the qualitative characteristics of financial information, the definitions of the elements of financial statements and the criteria for their recognition and measurement. This paper addresses the most important issues to be dealt with when defining the elements of financial statements and the way in which the main conceptual frameworks resolves such issues, namely in terms of the definition of assets. An evolution in the definition of assets is identified, and the definition presented by the UK Accounting Standards Board is considered to be the most appropriate among those presented thus far
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