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1 – 10 of over 14000Imeda A. Tsindeliani and Irina E. Mikheeva
The purpose of this study is to identify the prospects and main directions for improving Russian legislation on the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the prospects and main directions for improving Russian legislation on the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services taking into account the specifics of information asymmetry in banking.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the method of economic and legal analysis, the essence of information asymmetry in banking in the Russian Federation was considered. Taking into account international experience, the analysis of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the existing regulatory and legal field is carried out. A forecast of probable changes in the field of legal regulation of information asymmetry issues in banking was also carried out.
Findings
This paper deals with cases when information asymmetry can be recognized as unfair behavior. The main features of information asymmetry in banking on the part of credit institutions in terms of banks’ failure to provide information on the content of banking services on the right to refuse additional services have been studied.
Originality/value
This study suggests that the current Russian legislation does not provide the necessary protection for consumers of financial services from information asymmetry. Based on a comprehensive analysis of legislation and judicial practice, the information asymmetry in this paper is delimited as an economic and legal concept; the prerequisites and main forms of information asymmetry in banking are determined. The main provisions and conclusions of this study can be used in legislative activities when developing provisions on the protection of the rights of financial services consumers.
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Existing literature has agreed that during elections party web sites are primarily an information tool. This study seeks to identify to what extent political parties have…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing literature has agreed that during elections party web sites are primarily an information tool. This study seeks to identify to what extent political parties have developed a distinctive role for the Internet as a communications channel.
Design/methodology/approach
Research data were based on content analysis of the web sites and e‐newsletters of parties contesting the 2005 UK General Election, and interviews with party e‐campaigners.
Findings
Party size determined whether they had an integrated online communication strategy or not. The Internet did provide a discrete role, that of recruiting new members, encouraging donations and mobilising volunteers. Whereas previous research has focused on the web as an election campaign tool, this study found that it was e‐mail, especially pass‐protected e‐newsletters to party members.
Originality/value
The traditional view was that parties used their web sites primarily to promote information. This study suggests that they only do so partially. Parties do not use their web sites as part of an integrated communication strategy supporting the messages carried by other channels. In 2005 UK parties began to develop a positive reason for having an online presence, namely as a resource generating tool, particularly in mobilising volunteers. Previous literature had considered whether parties had entered into dialogue; this study further defined this into asymmetrical and symmetrical two‐way communication. The results suggest that it is smaller parties who are more likely to use two‐way symmetrical communication.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss some lessons drawn from a comparative approach to the issue of the effectiveness in labour law.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss some lessons drawn from a comparative approach to the issue of the effectiveness in labour law.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the consensus on variable ineffectiveness in labour law and describes some different ways of improving effectiveness.
Findings
The issue of effectiveness is not specific to labour law. However, labour law seems particularly subject to ineffectiveness, due to the imbalance of power in labour relations, resulting from the inherent inequality of the parties. A comparative discussion necessarily explored the “standard” issues of application, monitoring and, sanctions to deal with the ineffectiveness of labour law. The present debate particularly highlighted the problems in drafting and content of the law that contribute to non‐compliance.
Originality/value
The paper raises the following question: what effective labour law and for whom?
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Sonia Pedro Sebastiao and Isabel Soares
The concept of environmental diplomacy appears associated with events (conventions) promoted between states and transnational organisations to discuss aspects related to…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of environmental diplomacy appears associated with events (conventions) promoted between states and transnational organisations to discuss aspects related to regulating the use of natural resources and regulating pollution. In this study, the authors intend to highlight the contribution brought to environmental diplomacy by leading television figure David Attenborough and his focus on the destruction of biodiversity by humans (the problem). It is intended to analyse the frames of his public interventions, comparing them with the prevailing frames in the UNFCCC policies.
Design/methodology/approach
A predominantly inductive method of qualitative and interpretative nature is used. In epistemological terms, the framing analysis stems from a social constructivist perspective. A theoretical model for frame analysis was defined by combining the frameworks proposed by Entman (1993) and Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) and considering previous studies (Anholt, 2015; Seelig, 2019). Analysis scrutinised a two-fold corpus comprising articles regarding actions and statements by David Attenborough published in The Guardian between 2018 and 2020, and the UN's legal framework for climate change.
Findings
The most prominent frames regarding climate crisis in transnational policies are responsibilities. Attenborough's calls for action highlight the frames of “morality”, “responsibilities” and “problems”. However, it is necessary to make a distinction between the discourse used in transnational treaties and that by Attenborough. In the former, discourse is more technical and impersonal, presented in a structure of legal diplomas and barely accessible to the public. In contrast, Attenborough's speech is more emotional, appealing and sometimes dramatic. His message is transmitted straightforwardly to the public in a pedagogical, personal tone.
Social implications
The choice of high-profile personalities like David Attenborough as ambassadors has implications in the visibility of the environmental cause, and in the multiplication of initiatives that denounce environmental degradation.
Originality/value
This study explores and analyses the narrative construct regarding climate change as carried out by a trusted and respected media voice. The authors intend to contribute to understanding the amplification role of public figures in controversial issues and diplomatic matters. The main contribution of this study is to highlight the strategic nature of the choice of SDA by political powers to voice the drama of climate emergency.
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– The aim of this paper is to analyze the adjustment of relations between the EU and ACP countries to multilateral requirements.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze the adjustment of relations between the EU and ACP countries to multilateral requirements.
Design/methodology/approach
Has been carried out an analysis of the previous situation, the reasons and the result of the adjustment. To do this, they have been pursued literary and documentary sources.
Findings
The European Union's relations with the ACP countries have changed drastically. Now there is no unity of action of ACP, and the relations with the EU relations are atomized.
Originality/value
The submitted article summarizes and critically analyzes the evolution of the European Union's relations with ACP countries. The relationship with the ACP has been historically and currently lost its specificity, so it is diluted in the context of the external action of the European Union.
In recent years there has been a dramatic expansion in both the number and scope of policy proposals explicitly intended to reduce inequality proffered by policymakers in the…
Abstract
In recent years there has been a dramatic expansion in both the number and scope of policy proposals explicitly intended to reduce inequality proffered by policymakers in the Democratic Party. In the following, it is argued that this state of affairs is the result of a complex series of developments triggered by the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests. OWS dramatically enhanced both the salience and the politicization of economic inequality. These developments altered the strategies of elites and organizations within the institutional left and advantaged elite movement allies within the Democratic Party. In combination, these indirect and elite-mediated responses resulted in antiinequality positions becoming integrated into both the partisan identity and the platform of the Democratic Party. Despite the Occupy movement being relatively short-lived and explicitly eschewing reliance on institutional politics, it nonetheless had a significant impact on conventional politics. By significantly shifting the political discourse around the issue of inequality, the movement reshaped the political landscape in a manner that created new opportunities and openings for political actors. As organizations within the Democratic Party's coalition increasingly adopted antiinequality messaging this both pressured and incentivized establishment Democrats to fully embrace an antiinequality agenda. This account is consistent with a theory of political parties in which the key actors are activists and interest groups, not party leaders, and social movement research that suggests that movements are often more influential in the earliest stages of the policymaking process.
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Constantinos Alexiou and Emmanouil Trachanas
Despite the existing conceptual analysis on the impact of trade unions on employees' welfare and the wider economy, the mediating effect of political party orientation (i.e.…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the existing conceptual analysis on the impact of trade unions on employees' welfare and the wider economy, the mediating effect of political party orientation (i.e., right, centre and left) on income inequality remains under researched. In this paper, the authors empirically explore the relationship between the nature of political party orientation, trade unions and income inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use three different measures of income inequality and dummy variables that capture government party orientation with respect to economic policy for a panel of 17 OECD economies over the period 2000–2016. The authors employ a panel fixed effects approach and the Driscoll and Kraay's (1998) nonparametric covariance matrix estimator.
Findings
The empirical evidence indicates that strong unions and, to some extent, left party governance, are fundamental institutional elements to combat rising levels of income inequality whilst countries dominated by right-wing political parties appear to exacerbate income inequality. The results pertaining to the impact of centrist parties on income inequality are ambiguous suggesting that a potential fragmentation may exist in their political approach.
Originality/value
The evidence generated can have significant policy ramifications in alleviating rising levels of income inequality as well in relation to the declining unionization rates observed across advanced economies.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore which socioeconomic and institutional factors are responsible for different societies’ ideological choices, with reference to Marxist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore which socioeconomic and institutional factors are responsible for different societies’ ideological choices, with reference to Marxist socialism. Which factors led to the rise of the popularity of socialism? And which factors made a socialist variant relatively more successful in one society but not the other, with social democracy and communism being the focus of the study?
Design/methodology/approach
Conducting a global theoretical and empirical study on the period between the late 1890s and 1945. The theoretical part discusses various perspectives presented in the literature, accounting for the works of major sociologists (e.g.: M. Mann, Lipset) and political theorists (e.g.: Marx, Engels, Lenin). The empirical part uses a number of OLS multivariate panel regressions using voting to various socialist movements as dependent variables, and socioeconomic and institutional factors as independent variables.
Findings
Some of the findings of the conducted empirical study are that: democracy, industrialization, high population growth rates, low linguistic or religious homogeneity, more years of schooling and less years since independence or creation increase the social democrat (SD) vote. The communist vote was affected positively by more urbanization; higher population growth; less years of schooling; more years since independence; recent experience of war; and the presence of insignificant religious minorities. Inequality seemed also to have been a strong significant factor for raising the popularity of various socialist parties, especially when countries were long-established or created. Countries which had a fresh experience with war devastation or which were highly urbanized while having higher levels of inequality witnessed an increasing vote share for the communists. More votes went to SD; however, when inequality existed in highly industrialized countries. High GDP growth, matched with higher inequalities, did not seem to have encouraged voting for various socialist parties, and even affected the communist vote negatively.
Research limitations/implications
There were data limitations on the available proxies.
Practical implications
This study suggests welfarism, public spending on education, social inclusion and democratization as remedies for radicalism, regardless of the ideological origins of such radicalism.
Originality/value
Its novelty is attributed to the deep analytical dimension for the issue done here, combining theory, an empirical study made possible by the newly available rich historical data.
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