Service Quality Effects of Incentive Regulation on Access Service in Telecommunications in the United States

Incentive regulation in the form of price caps was adopted for interstate access service in 1991 as a way to provide local exchange carriers with an incentive to improve their productive efficiency. An issue that has arisen with the adoption of price cap regulation is whether deterioration in service quality for interstate access service has been an unintended consequence. The analysis in this paper uses several different measures of service quality, including the average installation interval, the percent of commitments met, total trouble reports, and the average repair interval for both switched access service and special access service, to investigate empirically whether there has been a decline in service quality between 1991 and 2000. The results are conclusive. Overall service quality has fallen. To rectify the situation, a proposal is offered to adjust the price cap index to penalize LECs who fail to provide an acceptable level of aggregate service quality.     

转型后俄乌两国经济联系探析

苏联时期俄罗斯与乌克兰两个加盟共和国间的经济联系是一个有机的整体，苏联解体后，俄乌转变为两个相互间有着内在紧密联系的独立国家。由于乌克兰特殊的地缘经济政治地位，与欧洲经济一体化也同样是乌克兰优先发展的对外政策，在政治因素的影响下两国在能源、农产品和军工领域的合作进程发展缓慢。从长远来看，发展两国间的内在经济联系，促进两国间多领域合作是符合两国经济发展共同利益的方向。     

Economic incentives for the self-regulation of the release of price-sensitive information

Companies, as primary disseminators of information, and financial institutions, as major recipients, have economic incentives to self-regulate the transmission and usage of price-sensitive information. These include increased (lost) reputation costs and adverse share price penalties arising from poor management of information disclosure. The economic motivation for self-regulation is seen as conceptually linked to but distinct from legislative changes. Self-regulation has the strong support of economic efficiency arguments, whereas recent additional new legislative changes do not. This article examines a major corporate and institutional response to the new regulatory climate—to internalize part of the regulatory process during their regular relationship communications. Relationships between the case companies and institutions already exist for transaction purposes. They are used as a convenient and low-cost means to pursue self-regulation and to avoid errors of price-sensitive information release. This self-regulatory process is illustrated using case material. It is clear from the response pattern presented that the development of a self-regulatory framework by the parties has been an iterative one. The corporate and institutional systems that have been evolving seem to be significantly influenced by the regulatory trends. The regulatory changes appear to have played a role in increasing market costs incurred by those companies with poor stock market communication practices. The article ends by arguing that new proposals to change in the formal regulatory system should recognize that further legislation is unlikely to improve the poor prosecution record. Nevertheless, legislative changes can combine with and buttress the self-regulation process to create an effective regulatory system.     

The Legal Profession in the european Union – a Comparative Analysis of Four Member States

Cross-border legal practice has finally become reality in Europe mainly thanks to two factors: the legal framework offered to EC lawyers by the EC legislator and the effect of globalization on legal profession. This article focuses primarily on the success of EC/EU efforts in abolishing obstacles to the free movement of lawyers. Particular attention is drawn to the Establishment Directive, adopted in 1998, opening up new perspectives for lawyers. Secondly, it discusses how globalization has contributed to this development. In relation to the above, this article also explores the new concept of establishment stemming from the expansion of law firms in Europe. Thirdly and mainly, it considers the national positions and the difficulties in harmonizing the legal professions throughout Europe. The examples of four Member States: the UK, France, Germany and Italy demonstrate how much they differ from each other as far as the needs, expectations and rules governing the legal profession. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Corporate Governance: Towards a Theory of Regulatory Shift

Providing effective corporate governance regulation and controls is a contemporary challenge to all law makers. There exists a need to restore investor confidence while seeking to facilitate and encourage enterprise. This paper reflects on the traditional choice between shareholder versus stakeholder models of corporate governance and suggests that these are inappropriate in the light of emerging news theories of the firm. Instead this paper suggests that law makers should accommodate a shift away from the traditional paradigms of these models in favour of a processual approach of governance. This would require a recognition of the tensions that exist in the regulation of corporate governance and invite the application of a collibratory process to the control of governance. The development and reform of directors’ duties and liabilities, in the UK, is provided as an illustration of the need for the recognised application of a collibratory process. Within that we also consider the application of the economists concept of ‘rent-seeking’ and the conflict between private property rights and public interference.JEL M14, D72, K22, K33     

迈向合作治理:通过法律规制平台经济的制度边界及优化

通过法律规制平台经济的过程,其实质是在治理平台经济发展带来的负面性问题。借助法律多元主义理论视角分析平台经济发展的制度供给,会发现国家法律与平台规则共同构成平台经济发展的制度约束与保障,同时也是平台治理的重要制度资源。任何一项制度资源的投入会随着制度实施的环境条件以及制度执行者的价值观念变化而产生制度成本与效益的边际效应,这就为国家法律与平台规则的功能范围设定了制度边界,因而需要优化配置制度资源的投入和组合。而国家法律和平台规则的互嵌性,以及国家法律与平台规则在服务于平台经济创新发展的目标耦合性,也就决定了国家法律和平台规则之间存在制度合作的空间。因此在平台经济治理中,通过审慎评估国家法律在平台经济领域的实施效果,有效吸纳平台规则的治理优势,优化政府监管执法资源投入,可以有效形成合作治理的平台经济秩序。     

论行政垄断的法律规制

行政垄断已经成为阻碍我国市场经济发展的最大障碍,对其进行治理根除,已经迫在眉睫.行政垄断存在双重违法性,其本质特征是行政权的膨胀和对私权的干预.行政垄断规制悖论的产生,理论根源在于经济法、行政法部门法划分理论上的内在冲突以及由此造成的法律调整范围上的重叠.因此在对行政垄断进行规制时要坚持法律规制为主,系统监督和党纪监督辅助结合、反垄断法与行政法互相配合以及坚持结构、行为与结果认定行政垄断三原则,在具体的法律规制中通过调整反垄断法对行政垄断范围的界定、调整行政诉讼法和宪法时抽象行政垄断行为的规制以及建立行政垄断的责任制度来逐步根除行政垄断,加快我国市场经济的完善和发展.