This anthology provides an in-depth analysis and discusses the issues surrounding nudging and its use in legislation, regulation, and policy making more generally. The 17 essays in this anthology provide startling insights into the multifaceted debate surrounding the use of nudges in European Law and Economics. Nudging is a tool aimed at altering people's behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any option or significantly changing economic incentives. It can be used to help people make better decisions to influence human behaviour without forcing them because they can opt out. Its use has sparked lively debates in academia as well as in the public sphere. This book explores who decides which behaviour is desired. It looks at whether or not the state has sufficient information for debiasing, and if there are clear-cut boundaries between paternalism, manipulation and indoctrination. The first part of this anthology discusses the foundations of nudging theory and the problems associated, as well as outlining possible solutions to the problems raised. The second part is devoted to the wide scope of applications of nudges from contract law, tax law and health claim regulations, among others. This volume is a result of the flourishing annual Law and Economics Conference held at the law faculty of the University of Lucerne. The conferences have been instrumental in establishing a strong and ever-growing Law and Economics movement in Europe, providing unique insights in the challenges faced by Law and Economics when applied in European legal traditions.

Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished sources, this unique history of international commercial arbitration in the modern era identifies three periods in its development: the Age of Aspirations (c. 1780-1920), the Age of Institutionalization (1920s-1950s), and the Age of Autonomy (1950s-present). Mikael Schinazi analyzes the key features of each period, arguing that the history of international commercial arbitration has oscillated between moments of renewal and anxiety. During periods of renewal, new approaches, instruments, and institutions were developed to carry international commercial arbitration forward. These developments were then reined in during periods of anxiety, for fear that international arbitration might be overstepping its bounds. The resulting tension between renewal and anxiety is a key thread running through the evolution of international commercial arbitration. This book fills a key gap in the scholarship for anyone interested in the fields of international arbitration, legal history, and international law.

In recent years the People's Republic of China has experienced rapid economic growth, brought about in large measure by dramatic increases in foreign trade and investment. China's adoption of an "open door" policy in the late 1970s also opened up its banking market to foreigners. As a result, there has been a sharp rise in the number of disputes between Chinese sovereign borrowers and foreign banks, making the availability of appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms for foreign banks a critical factor in the expansion of international finance in China. This text recognizes the need for a unique international dispute forum that addresses intricate political and diplomatic considerations and issues of state sovereignty, issues that typically arise from disputes regarding state contracts between national governments and private foreign parties. The work addresses several problematic private and public international law issues in sovereign debt litigation, including the state immunity theory, the act of state doctrine, forum non conveniens, and the difficulty in enforcing foreign judgments. It offers a comprehensive survey of the many choices open to a foreign bank operator in planning a dispute resolution strategy in China, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each process, and examining a series of case studies by way of illustration. The author argues that the autonomy of each party in international arbitration circumvents potential cultural and conceptual difficulties and offers a flexible, mutually acceptable means of conflict resolution which in some circumstances can prove more effective than litigation. Arbitration and the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may be recognized as providing a level playing field for international financial transactions between states and foreign private parties, and the non-adversarial nature of the arbitration process makes it particularly appropriate in the Chinese context.

International tax practice demands a constantly renewed understanding of tax treaty provisions and how they are applied. Practitioners working with Western European taxation must master the further complexity introduced by the interplay between Community law and national law, especially as it affects the administration of tax law in the various countries. This text is a detailed survey of tax treaty interpretation in the 15 EU states plus Norway. Presented as 16 national reports by authorities from each country, the analysis provided is the result of a conference sponsored by the European Commission and held in Rust, Austria, in January 2001. Each report gives an organized, in-depth summation of the discussion as it related to the country in question, amalgamating the research and commentary brought to the conference by sixty experts in all. "Tax Treaty Interpretation" builds on the 1993 analysis of Klaus Vogel and Rainer Prokisch for the International Fiscal Association (IFA), and takes full account of such developments as the following: court decisions since 1993; the OECD report on partnerships; changes in administrative practice at the national level; and recent Community law affecting taxation and tax practice.

This book challenges the quasi-consensus that Latin American countries dominate global homicide rankings mainly due to the illegal nature of drug production and trafficking. Building on US scholarship that looks at the role of social exclusion and discriminatory policing in drug violence, the authors of this volume show that the association between illegality and violence cannot be divorced from the inequality that prevails in those countries. This book looks in detail at the functioning of drug markets in Recife, the largest metropolitan area in Brazil's North-East and, over the last 25 years, the heart of the country's most violent metropolitan area. Building on extensive interviews and field work, the authors map out the city's drug markets and explore the reasons why some of those markets are violent, and others are not. The analysis focuses on the micromechanics of each market, looking at consumption patterns and at the workings of retail sales and distribution. Such a systematic micro-level comparative analysis of the workings of Latin American drug markets is simply not available elsewhere in current literature. These findings point to significant gaps in current understandings of the link between illegal markets and violence, and they illuminate the need to factor in the way in which those markets are nested in exclusionary social contexts.

This compelling research review discusses the major literary contributions to the economic analysis of the consequences of trade liberalization on growth, productivity, labor market outcomes and economic inequality. Examining the classical theories that stress gains from trade stemming from comparative advantage, the review also analyses more recent theories of imperfect competition, where any potential gains from trade can stem from competitive effects or the international transmission of knowledge. Empirical contributions provide evidence regarding the explanatory power of these various theories, including work on the effects of trade openness on economic growth, wages, and income inequality, as well as evidence on the effects of trade on firm productivity, entry and exit. This review will be an invaluable research resource for academics, practitioners and those drawn to this fascinating topic.

On 1 August 2008 the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law entered into force, introducing a comprehensive framework for competition law to the Chinese market. One set of the new rules pertains to merger control. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was nominated as the authority responsible for enforcing merger control in China and has been actively doing so ever since. Recent years have established China as one of the most important merger filing jurisdictions for cross-border mergers alongside the EU and USA. This work evaluates the Chinese merger control law regime and MOFCOM's decision-making practice after more than five years of application. In particular, it assesses which policy goals (competition policy goals or industrial policy considerations) prevail in the written law and its application and provides suggestions for a further improvement of the law - with the aim to develop a transparent merger control regime that promotes long-term economic growth in China.

In many economic sectors - the digital industries being first and foremost - the market power of dominant firms has been steadily increasing and is rarely challenged by competitors. Existing competition laws and regulations have been unable to make markets more contestable. The book argues that a new competition tool is needed: market investigations. This tool allows authorities to intervene in markets which do not function as they should, due to market features such as network effects, scale economies, switching costs, and behavioural biases. The book explains the role of market investigations, assesses their use in the few jurisdictions where they exist, and discusses how they should be designed. In so doing, it provides an invaluable and timely instrument to both practitioners and academics.

The Law of MERCOSUR presents both an overview and in-depth analysis of one of the world's most important and increasingly influential economic organisations. The book comprises both a series of first-hand analyses of MERCOSUR by experts from countries in the MERCOSUR bloc, and also discussions from other parts of the world looking at MERCOSUR as global actor of ever-increasing importance. The book is divided into three main parts: the first analyses the key institutional legal aspects of MERCOSUR, looking at its history, the general theory of economic integration, and basic aspects relating to the functioning of MERCOSUR; the second examines specialised topics, including the regulation of the environment, human rights and the energy market in MERCOSUR; and in the third part the editors offer a translation of core MERCOSUR instruments, with the objective of furthering understanding of the economic bloc. Original in its conception, the book aims to fill a major gap in the English-language literature by offering a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the Law of MERCOSUR, and it is hoped that it will become essential reading for those practitioners and academics who are interested not only in MERCOSUR, but in economic integration generally, in international trade, and in the regional aspects of the phenomenon of globalisation.

This book addresses the lack of binding multi-lateral international agreement on cartels, through analysis of trials and failures. It also suggests strategic approaches to overcome current standstills. In addition, the book contrasts international agreement on cartels with inter-governmental commodity agreement which has been developed separately through international law. Through this project, the author puts forth that successful international law on cartels needs to reflect the interests and arguments of developing countries.

This book provides a comprehensive study of the standard of 'full protection and security' (FPS) in international investment law. Ever since the Germany-Pakistan BIT of 1959, almost every investment agreement has included an FPS clause. FPS claims refer to the most diverse factual settings, from terrorist attacks to measures concerning concession contracts. Still, the FPS standard has received far less scholarly attention than other obligations under international investment law. Filling that gap, this study examines the evolution of FPS from its medieval roots to the modern age, delimits the scope of FPS in customary international law, and analyzes the relationship between FPS and the concept of due diligence in the law of state responsibility. It additionally explores the interpretation and application of FPS clauses, drawing particular attention to the diverse wording used in investment treaties, the role ascribed to custom, and the interplay between FPS and other treaty-based standards. Besides delivering a detailed analysis of the FPS standard, this book also serves as a guide to the relevant sources, providing an overview of numerous legal instruments, examples of state practice, arbitral decisions, and related academic publications about the standard.

Global governance emerged as a concept more than two decades ago. Despite its relevance to key processes underlying the major public policy questions of our age, the contours of 'global governance' remain contested and elusive. This Research Review seeks to clarify key trends and challenges in global governance by bringing together the leading scholarship on its different forms. The Research Review discusses key issues in relation to global governance institutions: democracy, legitimacy, accountability, fragmentation, effectiveness and dispute settlement.

'History has a way of repeating itself in financial matters because of a kind of sophisticated stupidity,' John Kenneth Galbraith once wrote. In this superb new book, Ross Buckley suggests that the stupidity identified by Galbraith can be traced to the persistence of an inadequate legal system for the regulation of international finance − a system rooted in the failure of economists and investors to take the legal demands of real-world finance seriously. Everywhere, trade is glorified while finance tends to be taken for granted. Yet financial flows far exceed trade flows, by a factor of over sixty to one; international financial transactions represent a far greater proportion of the practice of most major law firms than do trade transactions; and international finance, when it goes wrong, brings appalling suffering to the poorest citizens of poor countries. In a powerful demonstration of how we can learn from history, Professor Buckley provides deep analyses of some of the devastating financial crises of the last quarter-century. He shows how such factors as the origins and destinations of loans, bank behaviour, bad timing, ignorance of history, trade regimes, capital flight, and corruption coalesce under certain circumstances to trigger a financial crash. He then offers well-thought out legal measures to regulate these factors in a way that can prevent the worst from happening and more adequately protect the interests of vulnerable parties and victims. In the course of the discussion he covers such topics as the following:A* the roles of the Bretton Woods institutions in the globalisation process;A* global capital flows;A* debtor nation policies;A* the effects of the Brady restructurings of the 80s and 90s;A* fixed versus floating exchange rates;A* the social costs of IMF policies;A* debt-for-development exchanges; andA* the national balance sheet problem.Professor Buckley's far-reaching recommendations include details of tax, regulatory, banking, and bankruptcy regimes to be instituted at a global level.As a general introduction to the international financial system and its regulation; as a powerful critique of the current system's imperfections; and most of all as a viable overarching scheme for an international finance law framework soundly based on what history has taught us, International Financial System: Policy and Regulation shows the way to amending a system that repeatedly sacrifices the lives of thousands and compromises the future of millions.

The People s Republic of China s tax policies and international obligations are as multifaceted and dynamic as they are complex, developing closely with the nation s rise to the world s fastest-growing major economy. Today, after decades of reform and the entry into the World Trade Organization, China has developed regulatory systems that enable it to provide stable administration, including a tax structure. China s main tax reform can be attributed to the enactment of the Enterprise Income Tax Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2008. Chinese tax regulations include direct taxes, indirect taxes, other taxes, and custom duties and from a collection point of view, China s tax administration adopts a very devolved system, with revenue collected and shared between different levels of government in accordance with contracts between the different levels of the tax administration system. With respect to international treaties, China has established a network of bilateral tax treaties and regional free trade agreements. This publication describes in detail China s complex tax system and policies, as well as major bilateral treaties in which China has entered into using country-by-country analysis.

Lorenzo Riccardi is Tax Advisor and Certified Public Accountant specialized in international taxation. He is based in Shanghai, where he focuses on business and tax law, assisting foreign investments in East Asia. He is an auditor and an advisor for several corporate groups and he is partner and Head of Tax of the consulting firm GWA, specializing in emerging markets.

A comparative lega, economic and political analysis of the impact of constitutional law and of international economic law on the foreign trade laws and policies of the major trading countries. The countries covered include the United States, Japan, EC and EFTA countries, plus regional trade organizations such as the EEC and EFTA. Developments such as the Cadana-US Free Trade Agreement are also covered. As the benefits of constitutionalism and liberal trade do not depend on the nationalities of traders, producers and consumers, the contributions criticize the frequent "double standards" of "fair trade laws" and suggest "constitutionalism reforms" of international and domestic foreign trade laws and policies.

This is the first book ever to assess comprehensively the impact of EU international agreements on services of general interest. Services of general interest remain high on the political and legal agenda of the European Union. However, the debates about the impact of EU law on services of general interest usually focus on internal market law such as the free movement of services, competition law, state aid rules and the law of public procurement. The external and international dimensions of the European legal framework for services of general interest are often overlooked. This book addresses the impact of international trade and investment agreements on public services and the role these services play in EU external relations. It shows that the inherent tension between establishing and securing undistorted competition on markets and the logic of public services exists in international economic law in a similar way as in EU internal law. Given the contentiousness of international trade and investment agreements as well as the EU's external policies, the issues discussed in this volume are timely and relevant and contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of services of general interest in the EU with fresh ideas and perspectives. Markus Krajewski is Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

The Dispute Settlement Reports of the World Trade Organization (WTO) include Panel and Appellate Body reports, as well as arbitration awards, in disputes concerning the rights and obligations of WTO members under the provisions of the Marrakesh Agreement.

This book is a compilation of contributions exploring the impact of the European Treaty provisions regarding state aid on Member States' legislation and administrative practice in the area of business taxation. Starting from a detailed analysis of the European Courts' jurisprudence on Art.107 TFEU the authors lay out fundamental issues - e.g. on legal concepts like "advantage", "selectivity" and "discrimination" - and explore current problems - in particular policy and practice regarding "harmful" tax competition within the European Union. This includes the Member States' Code of Conduct on business taxation, the limits to anti-avoidance legislation and the options for legislation on patent boxes. The European Commission's recent findings on preferential "rulings" are discussed as well as the general relationship between international tax law, transfer pricing standards and the European prohibition on selective fiscal aids.

The Contract is the core tool of governance in a free market economy. An EU Contract Law Code is now on the political agenda because all three legislative bodies in the EU and most member states favour it in principle. In its communication of July 2001, the Commission proposed three major options: to enhance the existing EC Contract Law by eliminating inconsistencies; introducing a European Code which substitutes national laws; and introducing a European code which only supplements national laws. This book achieves three things: For the first time, European academia is discussing these three options in an extensive and systematic way - with pros and cons, in a transparent and systematic way, along broad lines and often also important details. The book contains the views of all protagonists - from all those who really drafted the models to all those who illustrated the potential of decentralized rule-making and invented the very idea of an Optional Code. And it is the first book in which the optional Code, which is the alternative most likely to come, is thoroughly analysed at all. The book also contains a full map of design possibilities. It is the executive summary of what European academia thinks of the future of European Contract Law and a European Code. It is the Academic Green Paper on European Contract Law.

In light of new global challenges for international cooperation and coordination, such as the revival of protectionism, surge of populism, or energy-related issues, this volume highlights possible scenarios for the future of Global Economic Governance (GEG). The contributing authors analyze the substance of GEG as a normative framework for resolving collective action issues and promoting cross-border co-ordination and co-operation in the provision or exchange of goods, money, services and technical expertise in the world economy. Furthermore, the book examines drivers of fundamental shifts in global economic steering and covers topics such as power and authority shifts in the global governance architecture, technological and energy-related challenges, and the role of the G20 and BRICS in shaping global economic governance. "This book provides a very timely and nuanced account of the challenges facing the established global order." Andrew F. Cooper (Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo) "This valuable collection from a new generation of innovative scholars of global economic governance offers insights from a broad range of theoretical approaches to the central policy issues of the day" John Kirton (Director of the Global Governance Program, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto)

The book offers a comprehensive perspective on the highly topical issue of protecting and promoting labour standards in international economic law and the globalized economy. For the purpose of an in-depth analysis of both the specific and the fundamental aspects in this regard, it combines views from specialized academics of the legal and political sciences as well as experienced practitioners. The contributions to this book do not only reveal recurring obstacles but also point at best practices and potential for synergies, providing important guidance for future research and practice in international economic and labour law and policy.

This innovative book proposes a fundamental rethink of the consensual foundation of arbitration and argues that it should become the default mode of resolution in international commercial disputes. The book first discusses the most important arguments against this proposal and responds to them. In particular, it addresses the issue of the legitimacy of arbitrators and the compatibility of the idea with guarantees afforded by European human rights law and US constitutional law. The book then presents several models of non-consensual arbitration that could be implemented to afford neutral adjudication in disputes between parties originating from different jurisdictions' to offer an additional alternative forum in the doctrine of forum non conveniens or to save judicial costs. The first dedicated exploration into the groundbreaking concept of default arbitration, Rethinking International Commercial Arbitration will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners in arbitration and international litigation.

Legal practitioners, academics and energy industry representatives from several European countries contribute towards an appreciation of current and proposed EC energy legislation and policy. Legal and policy issues of EC energy regulation are considered and their practical implications, particularly for the oil and gas industry, highlighted. The increasing role of industry is discussed in the light of current key commercial issues facing the oil and gas industry such as abandonment and the current and future role of novel forms of energy financing. Finally, important considerations in North Sea Joint Operating Agreements and EC gas contracts are analyzed in depth.

In an attempt to reduce barriers to international trade, public procurement agreements have evolved during the last three decades of the 20th-century at both global and regional levels. These agreements give rise to a number of complex, topical issues. Yet apart from studies on European Union procurement rules, there are few books on public procurement, particularly covering regional procurement agreements. This study provides an assessment of these agreements, focusing on the problem of protectionism in government procurement, long recognized as a major barrier to international trade. Procurement lawyers, experts and officials; international economic law professors; public international lawyers; and international organizations should all appreciate this guide to understanding international procurement agreements, including the new tendering rules they impose. It also features coverage of all types of international public procurement regimes, multilateral, regional and bilateral.

Global business interacts efficiently despite the heterogeneity of social, economic, and legal cultures which, according to widespread assumptions, cause insecurities and uncertainties. Breaches of contracts may occur more frequently and business relationships may be terminated more often in international than in domestic trade. But most business people engaged in exporting or importing products or services seem to operate in a sufficiently predictable environment allowing successful ventures into the global market. The apparent paradox presented by cultural/institutional diversity and contractual efficiency in cross-border business transactions is the focus of this volume of essays. The wide range of approaches adopted by contributors to this volume include: the Weberian concept of law as a tool for avoiding the risk of opportunism * economic sociology, which treats networks and relationships between contractual parties as paramount * representatives of new institutional economics who discuss law as well as private governance institutions as most efficient responses to risk * comparative economic sociologists who point to the varieties of legal cultures in the social organization of trust * national and international institutions such as the World Bank which try to promote legal certainty in the economy. Inspired and edited by scholars of the famous 'Bremen School, ' these essays will be of great interest to scholars and students of globalization. The book builds on this interdisciplinary exercise by adding empirical evidence to ongoing debates regarding enabling structures for international business. It critically reviews and discusses some propositions which contain interesting hypotheses on the effects of the internationalization of markets on market co-ordination institutions, and on the role of the state in the globalizing economy. (Series: Onati International Series in Law and Society