Trade Unions and Political Parties in Italy (1946–2014): Ideological Positions and Critical Junctures

The paper investigates party-union relationships in Italy (1946–2014) by hand-coding parties’ parliamentary speeches and trade unions’ congress motions. In line with the cartel party thesis, a time series analysis shows that the ideological closeness between the left-wing Italian General Confederation of Labour and left-wing parties deteriorated when the Italian Socialist Party (1980) and the heirs of the Italian Communist Party (1998) converged toward the centre of the ideological spectrum. Conversely, the closeness between the Catholic-inspired Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions and the heirs of Christian Democracy increased after 1994, when the former party’s leftist factions became the major part of the Italian Popular Party.     

世界大变局与中美日三国战略选择

在世界大变局中,战后国际格局重大变化的主要标志是“世界老二”易位。苏联、日本皆不例外;21世纪以来欧盟也由盛转衰。未来国际格局可能有三种前景:1.中美两极对抗体制;2.中美竞争合作的“两极多元体制”;3.世界各大力量多元并存,构建多元一体的人类命运共同体。这要看世界潮流是走向和平多边主义还是暴力多边主义。中国实现伟大复兴后的战略选择是“济弱扶倾”,为世界可持续发展与可持续安全做贡献。日本面临的战略选择是:继续在《日本国宪法》下走和平发展道路,还是修改宪法,成为“能战国家”的一员,加入暴力强权的多边主义?坚持开放的地区主义与国际协调,还是搞排他经济集团,远交近攻,以中国为竞争对手?利用中美对立从中渔利,还是促进中美协调而避免在中美之间“选边站”?妥善处理中日两国围绕钓鱼岛归属认知争议和台湾问题,还是重走历史老路?囿于冷战思维和传统权力政治的现实主义决策逻辑,同中国搞战略对抗,还是树立共同、综合、合作、可持续安全的新安全观,与中国加强合作?这些战略选择将关乎未来30年的中日关系。     

International institutions and market expectations: Stock price responses to the WTO ruling on the 2002 U.S. steel tariffs

Many scholars assert that international institutions have little power to enforce laws, punish offenders, or force compliance. Others stress that international institutions are important actors, specifically in the regulation of international trade. In this paper, I show that the recent trade dispute over U.S. steel protection provides us with a critical case to evaluate the role of the World Trade Organization in settling trade disputes and specifically stabilizing expectations of market actors over future steel policy. I argue that stock prices can serve as an important tool in answering these questions. In an empirical analysis using daily steel stock prices, I find that during the 2002 WTO steel case, the WTO dispute mechanism helped market actors stabilize expectations of future trade policy.

论企业数据权益的法律保护——基于数据法律性质的分析

在互联网与大数据时代,数据已经成为企业的重要资产,对企业数据权益应当进行合理保护。但对企业数据不宜进行绝对化与排他性的财产权保护,因为此种保护违背数据的基本特征——数据并不具有排他性与竞争性。保护企业数据权益应当以促进数据共享为目标,企业数据的合理保护应当有利于促进数据共享。对企业数据应当进行类型化与场景化保护。对于非公开的企业数据,应当提供商业秘密保护;对于半公开的数据库数据,应当提供类似欧盟的数据库特殊权利保护;对于公开的网络平台数据,应当采取竞争法保护,避免恶性搭便车行为。法律还应当为企业主动公开的数据提供特殊类型的保护,允许企业设置白名单与黑名单。此外,法律也应当协调保护个人数据与企业数据,在优先保护个人数据的前提下,实现个人数据隐私期待与企业数据权益的共赢。     

企业商业秘密的保护

商业秘密对于企业的重要性不言而喻,很多国家都制定了专门的法律法规对其进行保护。面对我国当前在商业秘密保护方面所面临的严峻形势,除了应借鉴国外大企业关于商业秘密保护的一些实际有效的措施之外,还应通过法律途径加强对商业秘密的保护和救济。     

Climate change: the risks of stranded fossil fuel assets and resources to the developing world

Under the Paris Agreement, 80% of all proven fossil fuel reserves become stranded resources and investments already made in such resources turn into stranded assets. Much of the existing literature focuses on equitable burden sharing; only a few articles examine the risks for developing countries that invest in new fossil fuels. Hence, this paper addresses the question: What are the risks of investing in fossil fuels for developing countries? In doing so, it examines Kenya, a prospective fossil fuel producer, and China, an investor in fossil fuels. In terms of short- to long-term risks, ignoring new fossil fuels and investing in renewables is favourable and politically, socially, ecologically and economically more rewarding, not least because latecomers to development run the risk of having to compensate investors when new fossil fuel assets strand prematurely and become unrecoverable.     

Past as global trade governance prelude: reconfiguring debate about reform of the multilateral trading system

This paper peers backwards into the history of the multilateral trading system and its development over the past half century as a means of considering what may lie beyond the horizon for the future of global trade governance. Its purpose is to underscore the necessity and urgency for root-and-branch reform of the multilateral trading system. It achieves this by comparing and contrasting the global trading system of 50 years ago with its modern-day equivalent and its likely future counterpart half-a-century hence. In so doing, the paper throws into sharp relief not only the inadequacies of global trade governance today but also the damaging consequences of not fundamentally reforming the system in the near future, with a particular emphasis on the past, present and future development of the world’s poorest and most marginalised countries.     

Brexit: A Cliff Edge or a Small Bump in the Road?

It is becoming increasingly accepted, not least by the Prime Minister and opposition leadership, that the negotiation of a comprehensive trade relationship with the EU is necessary to prevent the UK economy falling off a ‘cliff edge’. This concern is shaping the UK's strategy towards negotiations with the EU and has provided at least part of the motivation for the UK to consider requesting a transition period to facilitate the Brexit process. But how accurate are these fears? What evidence is there for the existence of a ‘cliff edge’? How disastrous would it be for the UK to revert to trading with the EU on the same basis as most other countries in the world, namely according to World Trade Organisation rules? This article seeks to address these issues and it highlights a number of implications for policy makers which flow from understanding the available evidence a little more clearly.     

广东—东盟贸易投资存在的问题与对策研究

本文在全球金融危机的背景下,阐述了加强广东与东盟贸易、投资合作的必要性和迫切性;进而从广东经济结构调整需要的视角,分析了广东与东盟在贸易、投资合作中存在的问题及成因;并据此提出构建广东-东盟贸易投资综合平台的设想,论证构建该平台的基本条件,最后提出促进平台建设的相应政策建议.     

试论唐至清初潮州的海外贸易与海上走私

潮州与海外诸国的贸易往来很早就有,但在唐至清初这一时段里,潮州诸港从未成为官府承认的、合法的、正式的对外贸易港口。潮州通番走私贸易从内容上看,有非法地从事贸易与非法地从事违禁物品贸易之分;从形式上看又有下海通番与坐地通番之别。长期从事违禁贸易进一步助长了潮州人蔑视官府,视违禁为快速致富之路的不良风气,此种风气可以说是于今余绪犹存。