EU developments in IP,IT & telecommunications law

This is the latest edition of Baker & McKenzie's column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

Assessing the impact of decentralization on governance: A comparative methodological approach and application to Tunisia

The relationship between decentralization and governance has not been adequately explored in the literature. Many past studies have failed to assess fully the impact of decentralization because of the lack of a set of independent, comparative indicators of the quality of decentralization being implemented in a given country. The authors adopt the working hypothesis that decentralization, both as a process and as an end state in terms of organization and operations, is closely related to the quality of governance in developing countries. In order to provide an empirical basis for a comparative assessment, the authors have developed a model based on the scope, intensity and commitment to decentralization in a country. Each of these concepts is operationalized in terms of a set of empirically measurable variables. The method is then applied to the case of Tunisia and assessed as a tool for the comparative study of decentralization and governance. Decentralization in Tunisia is shown to have an important relationship to the quality of governance in that country. The methodology developed here for the analysis of the quality of decentralization appears, based on the examination of a significant case, to be worth pursuing cross-nationally.     

产业扶贫缘何难以为继:目标嵌入与行动“脱嵌”--基于一个地方案例

产业扶贫在脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴的进程中面临难以为继的困境。以项目制为基础的产业扶贫方式使政府得以将企业作为国家资本“代理”嵌入贫困村参与扶贫;为了激发村庄的内生发展能力,地方政府以政治精英下沉嵌入和村庄内生嵌入的方式,引导扶贫干部、合作社、大户三大重要的扶贫力量参与到产业扶贫中,带动贫困村产业发展和解决贫困问题。但基层政府对“短平快”效果的追求、企业纯粹逐利进入、村庄共生关系淡化及贫困户被动的策略性接受,破坏了这种嵌入性带来的结构性转变,造成产业扶贫中产业发展与脱贫目标的靶向偏离、贫困户实际创收有限、产业扶贫难以为继,形成一种脱嵌式产业扶贫。因此须构建一套完整的对产业扶贫参与主体的监督、考核、激励机制,努力探索开发扶贫目标下农户能普遍获得资源和项目成果公平性分享的制度安排,以期实现乡村产业兴旺、农民生活富裕。