How liable should an exporter be?: The case of trade in hazardous goods

This paper analyzes liability issues in the context of internationally traded goods like hazardous waste. It focuses on waste disposers of a small open economy that are judgement-proof due to either wealth constraints or regulatory liability limits. In this case, the extension of liability to waste exporters distorts the factor allocation and may reduce disposal care. Hence the optimal extension is partial at most. However, extending liability increases incentives of the waste importing country to hold domestic disposers liable. Interaction through the price system and through contracts that condition payments for disposal services on the occurrence of an accident yield identical outcomes if disposers are judgement-proof.     

Patent analysis for promoting technology transfer in multi-technology industries: the Korean aerospace industry case

With the increasing importance of technology, the efficiency of R&D investment is becoming a critical factor to an organisation’s success. As a result, many studies have carried out to create useful information to support various decision-makings faced during R&D planning but few efforts were made to discuss technology transferability in creating the information. Technology transferability can be an important factor to increase the efficiency of R&D investment especially in a multi-technology industry, where a compound of several industries produces a variety of components and systems. Therefore, this study purposes to develop a systematic method to analyse the transferability of technology, aiming to facilitate R&D spill-over. For the purpose of analysis, patent data from USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) was adopted and patent citation analysis applied, which shows the relationship between technologies and industries as quantitative measures. The research result then was applied to Korean aerospace industry and its utility verified. The suggested method is expected to be used in understanding technology characteristics and making the most use of R&D outputs by promoting technology transfer in multi-technology industries.     

The Relationship Between Crime Reporting and Police: Implications for the Use of Uniform Crime Reports

Empirical studies that use reported crime data to evaluate policies for reducing crime will understate the true effectiveness of these policies if crime reporting/recording behavior is also affected by the policies. For instance, when the size of the police force increases, changes in the perceived likelihood that a crime will be solved may lead a higher fraction of victimizations to be reported to the police. In this paper, three data sets are employed to measure the magnitude of this reporting bias. While each of these analyses is subject to individual criticisms, all of the approaches yield similar estimates. Reporting bias appears to be present but relatively small in magnitude: each additional officer is associated with an increase of roughly five Index crimes that previously would have gone unreported. Taking reporting bias into account makes the hiring of additional police substantially more attractive from a cost–benefit perspective but cannot explain the frequent inability of past studies to uncover a systematic negative relationship between the size of the police force and crime rates.     

Intellectual property rights on creativity and heritage: the case of the fashion industry

Recently, as different projects aiming to define and reinforce property rights in the fashion industry have been elaborated and discussed, a lot of papers have been dedicated to the question of property rights in this industry. Our paper considers the problems from a specific point of view; it focuses on the relation between property rights and creativity. If property rights allow the allocation of the majority of standard industrial goods without any special difficulty, however, when they are applied to creative goods, new problems arise. Then, for us, the persistence of a low system of IPRs in the fashion industry does not mainly derive from its efficiency but from the characteristics of the inputs that are used in the creative production process. They constitute strong constraints for defining, entitling, legitimating, enforcing, valuating and exchanging property rights. Thus, the different economic actors develop different kinds of strategic behaviour in order to obtain earnings and can try to protect copyrights, trademarks, new assets, old assets (heritage), private or collective assets, and so on. The institutional characteristics of this specific industry—such as the models of management, the type of ownership, the size of the firms, … lead to different historical models of management through IPRs. Peculiarly, the financial groups that integrate fashion into the new luxury industries currently try to implement new IPRs and to move towards a stronger system of IPRs but the management model of the street fashion puts an obstacle to this project.     

Regulation as a cause of firm fragmentation:the case of the Spanish construction industry

Team members organize their relationships to achieve efficient incentives in accordance with institutional constraints. When these constraints change, the rights and tasks of members are reallocated, generating a new contractual structure [or governance mechanism] that solves more easily the problem of collective action associated with team production. We show how this process has worked in the case of Spanish construction firms, in which more restrictive labor and tax regulations have induced parties to substitute market contracts for labor contracts because of the need to avoid moral hazards. We argue that this explains the increased fragmentation of the Spanish construction industry, and technical change does not seem to account for this process.     

论无单放货损害赔偿的责任主体

针对国际海上货物运输中长期存在的无单放货损害赔偿的责任主体问题,以我国《海商法》和《民法通则》的规定为依据,结合《汉堡规则》的规定和国际航运实践做法,分析承运人、实际承运人及其代理人、港口经营人承担无单放货造成的损害赔偿责任的条件、责任种类等。     

被认为灭失货物的所有权分析及处理

探讨了中国《海商法》第50条第4款中规定的认为货物灭失行为的法律效果,并分析了谁是“有权对货物灭失提出赔偿请求的人”。在此基础上,提出了货物被认为灭失后其所有权转归承运人所有,而所有权的转移是通过强制缔约的方式进行的,同时对被认为灭失的货物被运到目的地后如何处理提出了意见。     

Buying stolen goods: the ambiguity in trading consumer-to-consumer

This study investigates the buying of stolen goods in Denmark. The study consists of a self-report survey based on a representative sample of the general Danish population (n = 2311) and six focus group interviews consisting of both informants experienced with buying stolen goods and of those with no experience (n = 37). The survey showed that 4.8% had bought stolen goods, while 15.7% were uncertain whether they had bought stolen goods. Young people, males, and unemployed were more likely to purchase stolen goods. No clear correlation between income and buying stolen goods was found. Focus groups suggest the buyers of stolen goods did not buy stolen goods because they could not afford legitimate products. We recommend targeting consumers not interested in buying stolen goods with information about how to avoid such activity.     

Uniform Rules for Contract Disputes: Putting Activity-Related Jurisdiction on the Agenda

Netherlands International Law Review - This article addresses the need for uniform jurisdiction rules in cross-border contractual disputes and attempts to put it back on the diplomatic agenda. It...     

The A-9: A Program for Drafting Security Agreements Under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code

This article describes and evaluates a computer program for drafting the security agreements and related documents required by Article 9 of the Uni- form Commercial Code to create and perfect security interests in consumer goods and equipment. The authors suggest that such computer applications have great promise and invite further such research.     

New directions for anti-theft policy: Reductions in stolen goods buyers

This study explores the possibility of reducing theft in the United States through reductions in the number of persons who purchase stolen goods. Theft is conceptualized as a market-oriented offense that can be influenced by changes in consumers' willingness to make blackmarket purchases. Based upon several conservative assumptions about the number and the cost of thefts and the number of purchasers of stolen property in the United States, estimates of reductions in the former through reductions in the latter are calculated. Following these estimates, the issue of how best to accomplish a reduction in the number of persons buying stolen goods is addressed through analysis of data pertaining to individuals' decisions to buy stolen property. Key predictors of purchasing behavior are then reviewed for potential contributions to the inhibition of that behavior. In the final analysis, only one predictor, moral belief, appears to possess practical policy implications.