Some misunderstandings concerning Hans Kelsen’s concepts of democracy and the rule of law

The project was financed by National Science Centre Poland (decision no. DEC-2012/05/B/HS5/01111)

Is Locking Domestic Funds into the Local Market Beneficial? Evidence from the Polish Pension Reforms

This paper is concerned with the effect of enforced home bias on the development of emerging stock markets. It provides a detailed study of the impact on the Warsaw Stock Exchange of the Polish pension fund reforms and the associated restrictions on international investment. The time path of market development for the Warsaw Stock Exchange is compared with a benchmark sample consisting of the other seven post-communist countries that joined the EU in May 2004. It is shown that benefits arising from the pension funds’ increased investment in the home market are short-lived. In the long run, the relative performance of the Polish market returned to pre-1999 levels or worse, suggesting that enforced home bias on emerging markets may be detrimental, rather than beneficial, to the long-run development of the market.pension reforms, home bias, stock market development, transition countries

Home bias and stock market development. The Polish experience

Pension reform has become a major policy issue for both developed and developing countries in recent years. In developing countries the impact of these reforms on the development of their financial markets is critical. However, the initial expectations that pension reforms in developing countries would bring broad benefits and result in faster market development have not materialised. A particular problem has been that governments have imposed restrictions on the freedom of pension funds’ investment decisions. In particular, they have a tendency to enforce home bias in investment behaviour. This paper provides a non-technical introduction to home bias and its role in stock market development, and uses the Polish experience as a case study. It discusses the main arguments for portfolio diversification, the primary side effects that emerge from locking funds into underdeveloped equity markets, and highlights the problems the Polish pension funds face as a result of the “enforced” home bias policy of the Polish authorities. The findings support the view that enforced home bias has a negative impact on the local stock market development, on the performance of pension reform.pension reforms, home bias, stock market development, emerging markets

Deindustrialisation. Lessons from the StructuralOutcomes of Post-Communist Transition

Theoretical and empirical studies show that deindustrialisation, broadly observed in developed countries, is an inherent part of the economic development pattern. However, post-communist countries, while being only middle-income economies, have also experienced deindustrialisation. Building on the model developed by Rowthorn and Wells (1987) we explain this phenomenon and show that there is a strong negative relationship between the magnitude of deindustrialisation and the efficiency and consistency of market reforms. We also demonstrate that reforms of the agricultural sector play a significant role in placing a transition country on a development path that guarantees convergence to EU employment structures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39847/3/wp463.pd

Profitability Measures and Competition Law

The paper outlines various measures of profitability and considers what role they can play in competition law. We argue that profitability measures can provide a good answer to the wrong question and a much less good answer to the question we really want to answer. Using appropriate definitions of asset value it is possible to identify whether a firm earns more than the absolute minimum needed to cover cost and compensate for risk, i.e., whether profitability measures such as the internal rate of return and the accounting rate of return are above the cost of capital. However, both the empirical evidence we present and theory indicates that this does not really help in most cases. Knowing that a firm is earning say, half a percent more than the cost of capital is not really much help in almost all competition law cases. But we show that once the rate of return deviates from the cost of capital it becomes hard to measure. Using simple examples we show that shifts in cash flows that preserve the net present value of a project can have dramatic effects on profitability measures. Hence, it is hard to assess the quantity of the “excessive” return. Furthermore, this problem is likely to be far more prevalent today than in the past given the growth in outsourcing (since outsourcing has exactly this type of effect on cash flows). Despite such problems, we argue that the measurement of profit has a role to play in competition law but that the analysis is far more of an art form and far less of a simple statistical procedure.profitability measures, excess return, competition

Mit cyklopa w antyku i literaturze hiszpańskiej złotych wieków

W literaturze starożytnej obecne są dwa, biegunowo odmienne, motywy podania o Cyklopie: epicki, znany z IX ks. Odysei, przywołany później i poddany modyfikacji przez Eurypidesa w dramacie satyrowym Cyklop oraz liryczno-erotyczny spopularyzowany przez Teokryta w XI sielance, Skargi Cyklopa. Wersję Teokryta rozbudował Owidiusz w XIII ks. Metamorfoz. Pomostem między obydwoma wariantami mitycznymi jest tzw. dytyramb Filoksenosa z Kytery. Mit Polifema, głównie w postaci, jaką nadał mu Owidiusz, przewija się przez hiszpański wiek XVI aż do początku kolejnego stulecia, znajdując wielu naśladowców i tłumaczy. Pod koniec XVI wieku sięga do niego również Lope de Vega w powieści pasterskiej La Arcadia (1598), nadając mu formę tradycyjnej hiszpańskiej strofy romance. Mit stanowi odbicie historii będącej przedmiotem narracji, wzbogacając powieść o elementy perspektywy autobiograficznej. W Fábula de Polifemo (1612) Luisa de Góngory mit ulega całkowitej transformacji. W jego interpretacji przeważają barokowe kontrasty i hiperbola. Struktura dzieła oparta jest na zbieżności przeciwieństw: potworności Polifema i piękna Galatei. Mit staje się też okazją do transpozycji koncepcji piękna, wywodzącej się od petrarkizmu: obserwować można dominantę planu metaforycznego, zastępującego elementy rzeczywistości

Chemotherapeutic methods for denture care: analysis of a novel denture care product

Oral colonisation by the opportunistic yeast species Candida albicans is the major cause of oropharyngeal candidosis (OPC) in a variety of individuals. A sub-set of OPC, denture induced stomatitis (DIS), is predominantly associated with the elderly population is considered to occur due to multiple factors, including improper denture hygiene. Biofilm forming ability of C. albicans strains is linked to high carriage and persistence rates following treatment among infected individuals. These studies aimed to assess various denture decontamination options upon C. albicans biofilms grown on both polystyrene and acrylic resin surfaces. ‘Gold standard’ denture hygiene regimens proved to be partially effective in reducing C. albicans numbers therefore combination treatments with two commercial denture cleansers as well as dentifrice were investigated. Sequential treatment with Polident® (pH 8.6) yielded highest efficacy in biofilm inactivity with no re-growth present following incubation in growth medium. Interactions of known morphological modulators upon initial biofilm formation as well as mature biofilm viability were also assessed. Both EDTA; a cation chelator and farnesol; a molecule involved in quorum sensing in C. albicans spp. demonstrated anti-biofilm effects. Implications of fungicidal activity presented could impact upon novel anti-candidal formulations. Finally, host immune responses related to C. albicans infection were investigated in vitro using OKF6 TERT2 oral epithelial cells. Release of the inflammatory marker; IL-8 demonstrated that the biofilm mode of candidal growth results in elevated levels of host inflammation. Treatment of biofilms with Polident® (pH 7.0) denture cleanser did not impact upon levels of host inflammation suggesting that biofilm components, independent of viability lead to elevated immune responses. In conclusion, current methods for the treatment of C. albicans biofilm forming species are inadequate as the majority of commercially available ‘chemical cleaners’ merely inactivate the fungal biofilm without dispersing biofilm material. This has implications on subsequent yeast re-growth and prospective infection