Performance Review and Assessment of Public Managers: Some Evidence from Local Governments in Italy

Performance review and assessment (PRA) of public managers has been adopted in several countries, but we still lack detailed knowledge of what affects the effectiveness of PRA systems. Based on interview data and on a survey of Italian public managers, this article aims to investigate this issue by developing and testing a preliminary model of perceived effectiveness of PRA. The results suggest that PRA perceived effectiveness seems related to the clarity of the organizational design, the quality of the PRA process, the involvement of public managers in the PRA process, and the use of PRA results for tightening control.     

Trusts find a tax rule within the Italian financial bill 2007

The revision of the Italian tax laws on trusts reduces the riskof different interpretations on the taxation of trusts and whichshould encourage a better understanding and use of trusts byresidents in Italy. The authors examine the new law and discussthe interpretation of some of the more difficult provisions.     

Hoarding,Speculation, and the Public Order of the Market in France,End of the Eighteenth Century–1914

France regulated competition through the gradual development of jurisprudence rooted in Old Regime practices of speculation and hoarding. This article aims to understand the reasons for this institutional legacy in order to determine if and how these norms could be adapted to the new phenomena of industrial concentration as they appeared at the turn of the nineteenth century. I argue that French regulation of futures trades and speculation are aimed to stabilize and enhance markets and not to limit them, and that continuities in market and capitalism regulation were much more important than usually held.     

The future of consumer data protection in the E.U. Re-thinking the “notice and consent” paradigm in the new era of predictive analytics

The new E.U. proposal for a general data protection regulation has been introduced to give an answer to the challenges of the evolving digital environment. In some cases, these expectations could be disappointed, since the proposal is still based on the traditional main pillars of the last generation of data protection laws. In the field of consumer data protection, these pillars are the purpose specification principle, the use limitation principle and the “notice and consent” model. Nevertheless, the complexity of data processing, the power of modern analytics and the “transformative” use of personal information drastically limit the awareness of consumers, their capability to evaluate the various consequences of their choices and to give a free and informed consent.     

Cross-Border Trade and “the Market” between Xinjiang (China) and Pakistan

ABSTRACT

A significant part of China-Pakistan cross-border trade falls within the category of shadow economy. Most Pakistani traders in Xinjiang cannot afford to ship containers through the Khunjerab Pass and rather carry the goods purchased in China with them on the daily buses to Sost, Pakistan, thus avoiding customs duties. This form of border economy, though falling outside of the regulatory regime, is far from being informal. Rather, it is based on a network of contacts on both sides of the border and made possible by the particular institutional and infrastructural setting of the area. Based on long-term fieldwork in both Xinjiang and Pakistan, this article shows the complexity of these transactions, their transnational nature and the performativity that characterises them. It also highlights the role of online technologies and social networks in the cultivation of those relations, and the ability of traders to navigate often-changing norms and the flows that characterise the market. Eventually, the article suggests a new definition for “the market” as it emerges from the experience of traders in Xinjiang. For them the market is neither simply based on trust, social relations and the continuous flow of information; nor does it correspond to the global, culture-free market economy     

Wine Reputation and Quality Controls: The Origin of the AOCs in 19th Century France

Even though they were officially settled during the second half of the 1930s, the AOCs (Appélations d'origine contrôlée) constitute the outcome of a long process that took place over the 19 ^th century and that reached its apogee between 1905 (the date of adoption of the law on fraud and falsification) and 1914. This article studies the pre-history of the AOCs in order to elucidate in which circumstances collective marks are required, that is, when neither the market alone nor the individual marks provide efficient information on the quality of goods.Historical experience confirms the theoretical conclusion that economic agents try to bind a mark to a territory in order to enjoy a rent. However, before 1905, a halt to this ambition came much less from the ex-ante law than from its judicial interpretations.But unlike theoretical predictions, rules and procedures are much less surrogates than complements while the recourse to a framework law (loi cadre) rather than to a law or to a decree is not necessarily synonymous with decentralization.     

Forensic Entomology and the Estimation of the Minimum Time Since Death in Indoor Cases

Eight cases that occurred indoors in which the insects played an important role in the mPMI estimation are presented. The bodies of socially isolated people and old people living alone were discovered in central Italy between June and November. mPMI ranged from a few days to several weeks. Insects were collected during the body recovery and the postmortem. Climatic data were obtained from the closest meteorological stations and from measurements performed on the site. Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae species were present in 75% of the cases with Lucilia sericata and Chrysomya albiceps collected in 50% of the cases. Chrysomya albiceps was always found in association with Lucilia species. Scuttle flies (Phoridae) were found in 37.5% of the cases, confirming the ability of these species in indoor body colonization. We show that if sealed environment may delay, the insect arrival dirty houses may create the environment where sarcosaprophagous insects are already present.     

The Ethical Triage Dilemma: Who Should Receive Medical Care First; Is This the Right Question?

In 2020, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, academics and scientists began to question the triage criteria for allocating insufficient healthcare resources, trying to ethically justify the answer to the question, Who should receive medical care first? In this article, I will argue that even if we apply triage criteria, we won't be able to avoid the violation of human dignity or of the right to life and to health care. I will then suggest that, maybe, the real ethical triage dilemma lies not in the question, Who should receive medical care first? but in the question, How are we to decide who should receive medical care first?