Libera!

About: Libera! is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Bellman equation & European union. The organization has 501 authors who have published 571 publications receiving 7962 citations.

Measuring the effectiveness of transnational private regulation

Abstract: Trans-national private regulation has become a prominent form of rulemaking in several domains, from advertising to financial services, food safety and environmental regulation, with alternate fortune so far. In some cases, private regulation emerges spontaneously, independently of any legislative or policy initiative. This report takes stock of the activities performed within the HIIL project on “Transnational private regimes – Constitutional Foundations and governance design”, and proposes a toolkit for the analysis of the effectiveness of private regulatory organizations from the standpoint of their members as well as society as a whole. The report aims to contribute to the current debate on the use of ex ante impact assessment and ex post evaluation of private regulatory schemes by academics, private regulatory organizations, non-governmental organizations and governments.

Geographic environmental Kuznets curves: the optimal growth linear-quadratic case

Abstract: We solve a linear-quadratic model of a spatio-temporal economy using a polluting one-input technology. Space is continuous and heterogenous: locations differ in productivity, nature self-cleaning technology and environmental awareness. The unique link between locations is transboundary pollution which is modelled as a PDE diffusion equation. The spatio-temporal functional is quadratic in local consumption and linear in pollution. Using a dynamic programming method adapted to our infinite dimensional setting, we solve the associated optimal control problem in closed-form and identify the asymptotic (optimal) spatial distribution of pollution. We show that optimal emissions will decrease at given location if and only if local productivity is larger than a threshold which depends both on the local pollution absorption capacity and environmental awareness. Furthermore, we numerically explore the relationship between the spatial optimal distributions of production and (asymptotic) pollution in order to uncover possible (geographic) environmental Kuznets curve cases.

Cartelization and party change in social democracies: a comparative perspective on the Parti Socialiste (PS), Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), and Partito Democratico (PD)

Abstract: In the last decades, the cartel party theory has been one of the most discussed topics in the academic literature on political parties. Several publications have dealt with the application of the theory at the systemic level, using a country as a unit of analysis. Less attention has been given thus far to the party level. This analysis is aimed at improving the study of the cartel party theory by focussing on the transformations of three social-democratic parties in Europe: the Parti Socialiste in France, the Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol in Spain, and the Partito Democratico in Italy. The main findings in this work will not confirm in toto the theoretical assumption of the cartel party, in particular as regards membership and, in part, political convergence. Albeit declining, membership has been resilient in the last two decades. Despite a clear-cut convergence in EU-related issues, political manifestos of mainstream parties have shown a certain degree of polarization. Finally, while the three parties under examination rely almost entirely on public subventions, political parties proved to be capable of reforming the public funding laws, increasing the transparency of donations and reducing the total amount of public subvention.