There was a time when it was clear what risks social security policy was meant to protect: unemployment, sickness, and occupational disability. For many decades-although true equity remained elusive - a focus on these 'external' risks seemed to be enough. It is to the credit of more recent policy that such previously 'hidden' but all-important matters as excluded minorities, inadequate income, and obstacles to personal development are now on the agenda. Yet, with the globalization of the economy, new and unprecedented risks proliferate, most of them being of the 'manufactured' kind that stem from technological and economic factors that are largely independent of time and place and that do not lend themselves easily to regulation. Social Security in Transition surveys and analyses the forces affecting social security policy today as understood by twenty-one, mainly European, authorities in the field. Although each author focuses on specific issues (such as poverty, migration, retirement schemes, access to health care), a consensus emerges that social security can no longer be viewed as a distinct theoretical entity, but that it must be considered in a broad context of social policy that encompasses employment, education, and health care. That the state will remain the last resort for the resolution of dangerous social disparities seems inevitable; yet some transnational standards of fairness (including concerted action for the prevention of and combating the worst evils, such as poverty and social exclusion of migrants) are crucial if we are to develop meaningful state and collective arrangements - arrangement that will not only support all individuals as they take responsibilities inlife, enhance their opportunities, and make meaningful choices, but also safeguard the necessary level of social cohesion in society. Social Security in Transition builds on papers that were originally presented at a June 2001 symposium in The Hague to mark the centenary of the Dutch Occupational Accidents Act 1901 and at the same time of Dutch social security. The symposium was an initiative of the Social Security 2001 Foundation, which was set up by a group of Dutch ministries, administrations and supervisory agencies, and social partners.

The valuation of intangible assets causes tax lawyers and economists a lot of trouble. And when assets cross borders, it gets worse. The (maybe not so-surprising) result is that a considerable number of multinational enterprises use a transfer pricing method to value intangible assets that seems not to comply with regulations of either home or host tax authorities. Although this is a matter of the utmost practical concern, the persistence--even growth--of the problem clearly raises theoretical issues. This volume considers the valuation of intangible assets from both perspectives, theory and practice, building its practical recommendations on a sound theoretical analysis of the appropriateness of transfer pricing rules for intangible assets as well as on the adequacy of transfer pricing standards and methods for the economic reality of multinational enterprises. With expert insight into the difficulties inherent in the current regulatory approaches to valuing intangible asset transfers within multinational enterprise networks, the author combines three strands of current concerns, namely: research into the theory of the multinational enterprise, intangible asset valuation, and international transfer pricing comparison of transfer pricing policies when intangibles are involved; and the ongoing policy discussions on the subject among international organizations, tax authorities, and taxpayers. As both a thorough summary of the major ideas and key public policies in its specialized field and a clarifying presentation of recommendations as well as topics and issues for further research, International Transfer Pricing--The Valuation of Intangible Assets will greatly benefit internationaltaxation professionals, whether in business, government, or academia.