Bootlegging: A career caught between fantasy and reality*

This essay considers the seemingly opposing stances of basic knowledge‐building and policy‐driven research. It does so by reviewing the author's involvement in a series of criminological activities on both sides of the issue. He prefers to pose as a knowledge builder, but he admits to seduction by policy concerns.     

Bootlegging in the Music Industry: A Note

This paper analyzes bootlegging of music, i.e. the unauthorized recording and distribution of previously unreleased music (e.g. a live concert). In particular, we investigate whether, and if so, how this illegal activity may hurt bands and record companies. Bootlegging is different from pirating, where legal releases are illegally copied and sold, because it adds to the product variety. It turns out that welfare implications of bootlegging are decisively different from those of pirating—bootlegged music does not crowd out legal sales.     

The Political Economy of Canadian Legal Education

The political economy of Canadian legal education is characterized by conflicts over resources, values, and interests. These conflicts manifest themselves in divergences between faculty and students over issues of law school governance and politics, in the sometimes incompatible demands placed upon law schools by the legal profession and the university, in the intramural politics of class, race, and gender, and in rivalry among competing bodies of legal knowledge. Most importantly, the New Economy is reshaping legal education because the restructuring of CanadaÕs society, economy, and polity is undermining the position and power of both the universities and the profession.     

A Political Economy Model of Workers Representation: The Case of Union Elections in Spain

In this article we present a political economy model to analyse the effects of union elections. Union elections are the prerequisite for participating in collective bargaining and they are a unique Spanish institution for union recognition. We apply standard political economy assumptions to model the union elections in order to understand their influence on the dynamics of the unemployment rate. Although union elections give the right to vote to virtually all workers, we show that insider power exists and that it introduces a hysteresis effect on the unemployment rate. In addition, the model shows how the date of the union elections can amplify the business cycle. An empirical analysis confirms the main predictions of the model.JEL Classification: K31, J51, E24     

The Constitutional and Political Economy of Trade Protection

This essay reviews Trade Protection in the United States (Aldershot, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1995) by Charles K. Rowley, Willem Thorbecke and Richard E. Wagner. The book stimulates a radical rethinking of trade policy, with results that are applicable well beyond the political framework of the United States. The authors—all advocates of the Virginia public choice school of thought—provide a lucid explanation of the formation of trade policy and systematically explain the many paradoxes of endogenous policymaking. They assess the main players in the process of trade policy formation and rigorously explain the dynamic interaction of the various political organs involved. The authors conclude that unilateral free trade cannot be achieved through the ordinary legislative process, and make a compelling case for Constitutional reform. Given the fragility of free trade equilibria and the inadequacy of bilateral and multilateral trade treaties for a stable free trade environment, the right to trade should be constitutionally guaranteed as an individual right. Considering the relevance of the authors' conclusions in this phase of consolidation of European trade policymaking, this essay examines the proposed unilateral free trade amendment, addresses the game theoretic implications, in light of viable alternatives.     

The Banking Crises and Housing Finance: The Political Economy of Financial Deregulation*

This paper explains current problems in the housing and banking industries by reviewing the history of the post-New Deal U. S. banking system as it relates to housing finance. Current problems in banking and housing are seen as the result of the interaction of long waves of growth and decline in the U.S. economy and structured conflict over financial regulation between large commercial banks and a shifting alliance of other social groups. Contemporary problems of affordability, price volatility, and credit “crunches” flow from increasing financial fragility and economic stagnation. Policies to democratize finance and create new financial institutions are considered.     

The Political Economy of Green Taxation in OECD Countries

This paper addresses the role of politics in environmental policymaking in OECD countries. The public interest theory of regulation assumes that politicians pursue the public good and employ economically efficient instruments such as Pigouvian taxes to discourage polluting activities. Alternative theories of regulation, however, explain more realistically the environmental policymaking process. The theory developed in this paper argues that the goals of raising revenue and industry competitiveness overwhelm the goal of improving environmental quality when politicians set green taxes. This theory is empirically tested with a political economy model using data on OECD countries. The results suggest that policymakers do not set taxes with a specific concern for the environment, but to generate revenues. The model also demonstrates the concavity of the revenue function with respect to emissions; taxes are raised up to an optimal point beyond which raising them would discourage emissions, and thus revenues. Harmful behavior is not discouraged through the imposition of the taxes, since less healthy populations are taxed less. Emissions generated by industries that are exempted from taxation are offset by the industries that are taxed. When polluting products constitute a high share of the exported products, revenues from environmentally related taxes drop. These results help explaining the lack of environmental orientation of green taxes in the OECD countries.     

The Ambiguity of Force

The author argues that Schauer's understanding of appropriate empiricism and relatedly what he wishes to take from the positivist classics might have an even more reductive impact on legal philosophical inquiry than the legal positivist quest (which Schauer rejects) to confine such inquiry to a search for necessary and sufficient conditions. The argument is based on the example of the legal order of the Arab territories occupied by Israel. In the author's view, this legal order is very close to what Schauer regards as the normal case of a properly functioning legal order and in its closeness one can discern the flaws in his argument.     

"Gray Zone" in the Economy

I do not believe that the banking sphere in Russia is seriously criminalized. Accusations of this sort are constantly being made against banks by Russias press (which is prone to see criminalization in every instance). They speculate about the criminal origin of a considerable proportion of bank capital in Russia, citing different figures (as a rule, several dozen percent). These allegations, however, are rather doubtful. One can hardly imagine that proper "criminal groups," which obtained their money by racketeering, robbery, and so forth, might not only have billions of dollars at their disposal but also take the risk of utting them in banking, a sphere kept under the closest control by the authorities (the origin of a banks own capital, unlike the money in its accounts, can be effectively traced through rather elaborate procedures).     

The Political Economy of Water Effluent Charges in France: Why are Rates Kept Low?

The French water effluent charge was set up thirty years ago. However, its design differs significantly with the Pigovian tax envisaged in economic textbooks. In particular, various studies have shown that the tax rate is too low to significantly affect the polluters' behaviour. The paper is a case study of this charge and aims to understand why rates are low. It consists of a careful political economy analysis of the institutional setting through which the water effluent charge is implemented using both historical evidence and simple modelling. The fact that the charge is combined with regulation plays a crucial role in explaining its rate.     

中国特色社会主义政治经济学的重大原则

中国特色社会主义政治经济学是当代中国马克思主义的重要理论成果,是中国共产党立足中国国情和改革开放以来的发展实践,揭示新特点新规律,提炼和总结经济发展实践规律性成果;是对马克思主义经济学发展和创新做出的伟大贡献。中国特色社会主义政治经济学的五个重大原则,即以人民为中心、解放和发展生产力、公有制为主体和共同富裕、社会主义市场经济改革、对外开放,从研究立场、制度特性、发展路径等不同层面,体现其理论原理的内在特性和根本精神,呈现出探索中国特色社会主义经济运行规律和发展道路的理论逻辑,是对我国主流意识形态的崭新创造。     

法律的意义模糊及其救济方法

模糊不明,即法律词汇表达的意思不明确,是一切法律都可能存在的病灶之一,这是人类思维的固有缺陷造成的。法律的统一性、明确性和规范性,不能放任法律意义的模糊,因此,寻求法律意义的明晰和确定,是法律人必须完成的使命。法律解释的基本任务即通过语言、文字或行为的方式交代,明晰因法律意义模糊而产生的困惑,其效力基础在于有权解释的强制性以及人们对法定权威的接受性。但在疑难、复杂案件中,当案件事实与规范之间的对接与沟通出现困难时,法律解释无能为力,此时需要法律推理出场。疑难案件中,对法律可能存在多重意义的理解,法律论证可使案件的读者能够有自身的选择,这是一种更深层次的理解和阐释法律的活动。     

简论高新科技园区可持续发展之立法促进

本文围绕高新科技园区的可持续发展及其立法促进展开论述:高新科技园区可持续发展及其立法促进概述;海外高新科技园区可持续发展立法的有益借鉴;我国高新科技园区可持续发展的立法应对。     

法律文书中的模糊词语初探

法律文书在大量使用确切性词语的同时,还必须适当选用模糊词语,选用模糊词语的目的其实也是为了更确切的表意。法律文书在表述难以具体确定的时间空间、无法或不必确定的程度范围、难于或无需准确描述的频率数量、带有预测推断性质的内容情节、不便或不宜直言的情景事实等状况时宜用模糊词语。运用模糊词语可以使法律文书的语义更确切、表述更严谨、文风更庄重、章法更协调。法律文书在使用模糊词语时一定要注意不能超越一定的“模糊度”,不能偏离具体的题旨语境,不能忽略其与确切性词语的对立统一。