Between EU Constitution and Individuals' Self: European Citizenship

Law and Philosophy -     

Private regulatory capture via harmonization: An analysis of global retailer regulatory intermediaries

Studies using the Regulatory–Intermediary–Target (RIT) framework have examined a variety of forms of regulatory capture, including how targets capture intermediaries (T?I) and how intermediaries capture regulators (I?R). Little attention has been paid to why and how regulators themselves might engage in capture. Yet such a scenario is likely in transnational governance settings characterized by regulatory competition and conflict, as well as power differentials between different types of private regulators (non‐governmental organizations, multinational corporations, and business associations). This paper elucidates why and how a private regulator might capture another private regulator via a regulatory intermediary: R1?I?R2. Drawing on interview and archival data, I examine three industry‐driven regulatory intermediaries created to harmonize private labor codes of conduct and ethical audit processes. These are founded and governed by a small group of retail trade associations and global retailers who also fulfill the role of private regulators (R1). My analysis reveals that the creation of these intermediaries is driven by global retailers’ reliance on standardization, low transaction costs, and regulatory harmonization across all aspects of their operations. It further reveals how the harmonization platforms are designed to leverage global retailers’ market power and evolve from regulatory intermediaries into de facto regulators that supplant existing private regulators (R2), and thereby capture transnational governance of consumer product supply chains. The article concludes by discussing contributions, implications, and avenues for future research.     

Legitimacy of Inequality in a Highly Unequal Context: Evidence from the Chilean Case

Economic inequality is usually assumed to be a threat to social cohesion and democracy. Nevertheless, this opposition of inequality and democracy is based on further assumptions such as (a) that people perceive economic inequality accurately, and (b) that, by and large they consider inequality unjust. Research into distributive issues has not found consistent support for neither of these assumptions. Quite the contrary, empirical evidence indicates that economic inequality is widely misperceived and that inequality is to some extent considered legitimate. So far most of the empirical evidence in the area of legitimacy comes from experimental studies in the developed world. The present research aims at widening the scope of legitimacy studies by focusing on Chile as a case country, one of the societies with the highest economic inequality worldwide, guided by the question to what extent is economic inequality considered legitimate in a context of high economic inequality? In addressing this question, and based on previous evidence, the article proposes a way to evaluate (a) the legitimacy of inequality at a country level via survey research, and (b) the role of inequality perception and justice ideologies in the justification of economic inequality. The data to be analyzed is the public opinion survey International Social Justice Project (ISJP), implemented in Chile in the year 2007 (n = 890). Multivariate analysis results reveal signs of legitimacy of inequality in Chile, opening a series of issues regarding the acceptance and stability of unequal distributions.     

Identification of gunshot residues in fabric targets using sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique and ternary graphs

During criminal investigations involving firearms, the detection of gunshot residues (GSRs) is one of the most important evidences. In the present study, a new method to identify trace evidences of GSRs, deposited around the bullet entrance hole, in different types of fabrics used as targets, is described. The experiments were carried out using a 0.38-inch caliber revolver, and 9-mm and 0.40-inch caliber pistols. Testimonies of 2.25 cm(2) of the fabrics were cut around the bullet entrance and digested with 10% nitric acid. Antimony, barium, and lead were analyzed in the remaining solution using a sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The concentrations of the elements were detected at levels up to few microgram per square centimeter. The use of ternary graphics allowed us to identify specific patterns of distribution for blank samples and the clear distinction between the revolver and pistols used.     

古巴共产党与中国共产党:政治互信和互相支持的典范

承认中华人民共和国是新生的古巴革命政权自行使独立主权时起，所采取的最早的行动之一。1960年9月2日，在具有历史意义的哈瓦那革命广场，一百多万古巴人欢呼支持菲德尔·卡斯特罗同志关于古巴与中国这个兄弟国家建立外交关系的提议。同月28日，两国共同发表联合公报，宣布建立外交关系。此举使古巴成为第一个与中华人民共和国建立外交关系的拉美国家。     

On the use and misuse of profit functions for measuring the price responsiveness of peasant farmers: A comment

The standard profit function approach has been applied successfully in a number of LDCs to measure the price responsiveness of peasant farmers. Yet, various problems afflict this approach including, but not restricted to, the existence of non‐competitive market structures, zero‐valued observations, exclusion of relevant variables, lack of participation in output and/or input markets, and endogeneity of input and/or output prices. The impact of these problems on estimation results, however, can be minimised through modifications and adaptations of the standard approach, better specification of the underlying technology, and the use of selected functional forms.