COMPETITION IN FREIGHT RAILWAYS: "ABOVE-THE-RAIL" OPERATORS IN CENTRAL EUROPE AND RUSSIA

The railways of Russia and the Central and Eastern Europeancountries are in the process of restructuring. In most cases,the "vertical separation" reform model is being pursued, andreformers are seeking to introduce competition among freighttrain operators through the provision of "open access" to themonopoly infrastructure. This paper shows that, in two countries,Poland and Romania, a good deal of competition has been createdby the entry of new freight operators, many of them either largeshippers integrating upstream or former freight forwarders.However, in other countries, the incumbent freight operatorsretain virtually 100 percent of the market. In particular, Russiahas taken only the very first steps toward creating competitionin this sector, and new freight train operators face significantbarriers to competing with the incumbent.     

European Competition Soft Law in European Courts: A Matter of Hard Principles?

This article analyses whether and how competition soft law instruments are taken into consideration by the European Courts and the Advocates General. The quantitative analysis of the case‐law reveals that even if arguments based on competition guidelines or notices were brought to court since the early days of European law, it is only during the last two decades that they have been taken seriously. The results of the qualitative analysis point to the fact that soft law instruments are considered by the European Courts an important and specific part of the body of European norms that they should use when deciding cases submitted for their judgment. Legal effects are recognised to these not legally binding instruments, but only when it serves the enforcement of hard, general principles of law.     

Seeking the Soul of Democracy: A Review of Recent Research into Citizens' Political Talk Culture

This article provides a review of extant empirical research on ordinary citizens' everyday political communication, its phenomenology, determinants, consequences, and relevance for democratic politics. It highlights the recent upsurge in interest in the study of political conversations against the background of both classic and more recent developments in democratic theory and empirical research that served as intellectual inspirations. The article discusses conceptual and methodological issues of research into interpersonal political communication and presents key findings with regard to the background and consequences of political talk, tapping into fundamental aspects of democratic citizenship such as political preferences, participation, cognitive involvement with politics as well as orientations towards fellow citizens and towards the democratic political system. It concludes with an assessment of the state of the art in this field of study, highlighting desirable avenues for future empirical research.     

The Battle over Privileges and Pension Reform: Evidence from Legislative Roll Call Analysis in Poland

Pension reform is among the most economically pressing and politically controversial issues worldwide. Numerous countries have achieved noteworthy results, but for others overcoming opposition to reform remains an elusive task. This article argues that opposition does not necessarily come from the left, but also from parties connected with privileged occupational groups. Focusing on a distinction between the diffuse and concentrated costs of reform, the article analyses the formation of pro-reform and anti-reform coalitions in a two-dimensional space and discusses how particular configurations of the party system relate to reform outcomes and sustainability. The argument is tested using legislative roll call data from Poland.     

European Union Soft Law: New Developments Concerning the Divide Between Legally Binding Force and Legal Effects

The judgment in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa sheds light on the legal effects of soft law instruments that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will recognise, while distinguishing between their legally binding force and their legal or practical effects. European soft law is now often relied on in national courts, and can have an important impact on the rights and obligations of individuals. However, some of the goals of the Commission are only partly attainable due to the specific legal status of soft law instruments, and the current languages policy of the European Union. Given that soft law was not found to expressly impose obligations on individuals, the Court held that there was no requirement to publish it in all the official languages of the European Union. This has a negative impact on transparency and legal certainty, diminishing the role of soft law instruments in promoting such goals.     

Beyond the Visible Pattern: Historical Particularities,Development, and Age at First Marriage in Transylvania, 1850–1914

The present study focused on age at first marriage in Transylvania between 1850 and 1914, a time of both social-economic change and resilient historically entrenched particularities. Based on data extracted from the Historical Population Database of Transylvania we constructed an extensive sample from settlements with a broad range of social-economic characteristics, which allowed for a comparative view into the influence of various factors on marriage timing. We examined in this sense both individual-level co-variates, such as denominational affiliation, migration background, and social-occupational status, as well as broader factors, such as the development level attained by certain settlements and the time frame. We found that the area level of development measured according to a heuristic index was in many cases more decisive than individual characteristics in shaping individuals’ constraints and opportunities on the marriage market. More significantly, the analysis showed that the ways in which the development level worked to transform marriage timing for both men and women could be explained by historically entrenched differences and specificities. At the same time, these patterns in age at first marriage, given by factors such as denomination, might be the result of other largely still invisible factors, for which the variables used are merely imperfect proxies.     

Reciprocal Associations between Educational Identity and Vocational Identity in Adolescence: A Three-wave Longitudinal Investigation

Education and vocation are core identity domains in adolescence. School is a normative social context in this developmental time frame and the formation of an educational identity is embedded in the goals that youth pursue in school. One of the main goals of education is to prepare young people for their future careers. Hence, educational identity should support the formation of vocational identity during adolescence. Considering the limited evidence on the longitudinal links between these two domain-specific identities, we conducted a three-wave investigation, testing the moderating role of age group, gender, and type of school. Participants (N?=?1030; 59.3% female) were adolescents (M _age ?=?16.72 years, SD _age ?=?1.23, age range 14–19 years) who completed self-report measures of educational and vocational identity three times during an academic year. We underscored reciprocal associations between educational identity and vocational identity. The results indicate that strong educational commitments supported the formation of strong vocational commitments across time. Adolescents who were involved in the in-depth exploration of their educational choices also reported more vocational exploration during the school year. In turn, vocational identity processes also supported educational identity formation, especially the reconsideration of educational commitments. In terms of moderators, we underscored that vocational commitment making and vocational flexibility bolstered educational commitment only in early-to-middle adolescents. Educational in-depth exploration fostered the identification with vocational commitments only in girls. Educational reconsideration of commitment promoted vocational self-doubt only in adolescents attending work-bound high-schools. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Can you keep a secret? Introducing the RT-based Concealed Information Test to children

The present study validates a novel version of the Reaction time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) adapted for young children (7–10 years). Their ability to deny the possession of relevant information was related to individual differences in intelligence, processing speed, executive functioning and affective problems. The comparison between the knowledgeable group of children (N = 84) who took part in a mock surprise scenario and the unknowledgeable group (N = 78) indicated that by early school-age the RT-CIT can be considered a relatively reliable diagnostic tool for detecting concealed information. We found evidence indicating that executive functions are predictors of children's proficiency in concealing information; however, the specific interrelations were complex (children with lower inhibition and spatial working memory, but with better shifting performance were easier to detect as possessing concealed information). Finally, we found limited evidence for a substantial association between parent-reported emotional problems and children's proficiency in concealing information. This investigation has practical implications for the development of rigorous protocols to detect children's concealed knowledge within legal environments.