Showing papers on "European union published in 1997"

Understanding Governance: Policy Networks, Governance, Reflexivity and Accountability

Abstract: Understanding Governance asks: * What has changed in British government over the past two decades, how and why? * Why do so many government policies fail? * What does the shift from government to governance mean for the practice and study of British government? This book provides a challenging reinterpretation which interweaves an account of recent institutional changes in central, local and European Union government with methodological innovations and theoretical analysis. It emphasizes: the inability of the 'Westminster model', with its accent on parliamentary sovereignty and strong executive leadership, to account for persistent policy failure; the 'hollowing out' of British government from above (the European Union), below (special purpose bodies) and sideways (to agencies); and the need to respond to the postmodern challenge, rethinking the methodological and theoretical assumptions in the study of British government.

The five factor model of personality and job performance in the European Community.

Abstract: In 3 prior meta-analyses, the relationship between the Big Five factors of personality and job criteria was investigated. However, these meta-analyses showed different findings. Furthermore, these reviews included studies carried out only in the United States and Canada. This study reports meta-analytic research on the same topic but with studies conducted in the European Community, which were not included in the prior reviews. The results indicate that Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability are valid predictors across job criteria and occupational groups. The remaining factors are valid only for some criteria and for some occupational groups. Extraversion was a predictor for 2 occupations, and Openness and Agreeableness were valid predictors of training proficiency. These findings are consistent with M.R. Barrick and M.K. Mount (1991) and L.M. Hough, N.K. Eaton, M.D. Dunnette, J.D. Kamp, and R.A. McCloy (1990). Implications of the results for future research and the practice of personnel selection are suggested.

From the Positive to the Regulatory State: Causes and Consequences of Changes in the Mode of Governance

Abstract: Since the late 1970s European governments have been forced to change their traditional modes of governance in response to such trends as increasing international competition and deepening economic and monetary integration within the European Union. Strategic adaptation to the new realities has resulted in a reduced role for the positive, interventionist state and a corresponding increase in the role of the regulatory state: rule making is replacing taxing and spending. The paper's first part identifies three sets of strategies leading to the growth of the regulatory state as external or market regulator, and as internal regulator of decentralised administration. The second part examines major structural changes induced by changes in regulatory strategies. The institutional and intellectual legacy of the interventionist state is a major impediment to the speedy adjustment of governance structures to new strategies. It would be unwise to underestimate the difficulties of the transition from the positive to the regulatory state, but it is important to realise that international competition takes place not only among producers of goods and services but also, increasingly, among regulatory regimes. Regulatory competition will reward regimes in which institutional innovations do not lag far behind the new strategic choices.

The Economics of Industrial Innovation - 3rd Edition

Abstract: Technical innovation has moved to center stage in contemporary debates on economic theory and policy, and Chris Freeman and Luc Soete have played a prominent part in these debates. For this new edition of The Economics of Industrial Innovation, they have rewritten all the existing chapters and added ten new ones that address recent advances in theory and in policymaking. In the new chapters they deal with the international dimensions of technical change including underdevelopment, technology transfer, international trade, and globalization. They have also strengthened the historical account of the rise of new technologies, a main feature of earlier editions. They take advantage of their experience on projects for the OECD, the European Union, and industry in other new chapters on "The Information Society" and on environmental issues, as well as in the updated discussion of science and technology policy.

The burden of cardiovascular diseases mortality in Europe. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology on Cardiovascular Mortality and Morbidity Statistics in Europe

Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death in adults and the elderly in the majority of the developed countries and in many developing countries. Cardiovascular diseases result in substantial disability and loss of productivity and contribute in large part, to the escalating costs of health care, especially in the presence of an ageing population. Papers published by the World Health Organization of the United Nations (WHO) and others have previously reported trends in cardiovascular mortality over time. These reports showed large international between-country differences both in the levels and in the trends in mortality from cardiovascular diseases, especially from ischaemic heart disease. More recent analysis of mortality data points to a substantial increase in cardiovascular diseases in countries of Central and Eastern Europe concomitant with recent nutritional, economical and political changes. Although most European countries perform analysis of mortality at the sub-national (regional) level, international analysis using sub-national data have been made only for selected diseases, for example cancer mortality by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon. The advantage of this type of analysis is that spatial variability in mortality patterns can be shown across borders. This may help in identifying factors responsible for this variation. The importance of population control of cardiovascular diseases was highlighted by the European Union in article 129 of the Treaty on European Union, which contains specific provisions on public health and focuses on the ‘prevention of disease, in particular the major health scourges’. The Council Resolution recognized the need for monitoring and surveillance of cardiovascular diseases within the general framework of health monitoring. Accordingly, the Board of the European Society of Cardiology upon recommendation from the Committee for Scientific and Clinical Initiatives, set up a Task Force to study the latest available data on cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in order to assess the burden of these diseases in Europe. This report reviews total cardiovascular, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular and all causes mortality in European countries for the years 1990–1992. Regional mortality rates are presented for the years 1990–1991. Finally, the country mortality trends for the period 1970 to 1992 are analysed.

Methods to evaluate fish freshness in research and industry

Abstract: Current work in a European concerted action project ‘Evaluation of Fish Freshness’ (AIR3 CT94-2283) focuses on harmonizing research activities in the area of fish freshness evaluation in leading fish laboratories in Europe (see Box 1). The overall aim of the concerted action project is to validate methods for the assessment of fish freshness and to discuss the freshness criteria for fish commercialized within the European Union. The project's participants are working in subgroups studying sensory analysis, microbiology, volatile compounds, proteins, lipids, adenosine triphosphate and physical measurements with respect to fish freshness evaluation. In this article, the different subgroups have summarized changes that occur in fish and methods to evaluate fish freshness as a first step towards the definition of criteria for fish freshness.

Political parties in the European Union

Abstract: Introduction - Shape of the EU Party System - Organisation of Parties in the EU - Party Groups in the European Parliament: Election and Formation - Party Groups in the European Parliament: Institutional Environment and Inner Workings - Party Groups in the European Parliament: An Evaluation of Their Performance - Parties Beyond the Parliament - Conclusion: Towards a Europe of Parties

Health and safety problems associated with long working hours: A review of the current position

Abstract: The European Community Directive on Working Time, which should have been implemented in member states of the European Community by November 1996, contains several requirements related to working hours, including the right of employees to refuse to work more than 48 hours a week. The United Kingdom government attempted to oppose the Directive, arguing that there is no convincing evidence that hours of work should be limited on health and safety grounds. Much of the research in this area has focused on the problems of shiftworking and previous reviews have therefore tended to emphasise this aspect of working hours. However, there is much less information about the effects of overtime work, which is a central element of the terms of the Directive. This paper reviews the current evidence relating to the potential effects on health and performance of extensions to the normal working day. Several gaps in the literature are identified. Research to date has been restricted to a limited range of health outcomes--namely, mental health and cardiovascular disorders. Other potential effects which are normally associated with stress--for example, gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and problems associated with depression of the immune system, have received little attention. Also, there have been few systematic investigations of performance effects, and little consideration of the implications for occupational exposure limits of extensions to the working day. Existing data relate largely to situations where working hours exceed 50 a week and there is a lack of information on hours below this level, which is of direct relevance to the European Community proposal. Finally, it is clear from investigations relating to shiftwork that a range of modifying factors are likely to influence the level and nature of health and performance outcomes. These include the attitudes and motivation of the people concerned, the job requirements, and other aspects of the organisational and cultural climate. It is concluded that there is currently sufficient evidence to raise concerns about the risks to health and safety of long working hours. However, much more work is required to define the level and nature of those risks.

The common agricultural policy

Abstract: Preface - Introduction - The Context of European Agriculture - The Structure of European Agriculture and Food Processing - The Development of the Common Agricultural Policy - System Failures: the Agrimonetary System and the Fraud Problem - Butter Mountains, Wine Lakes and Beef War: the Commodity Regimes - Decision Making and the CAP - The Reform Imperative: Eastern Enlargement, Trade and the Environment - The Possibility of Radical Reform? - References

Economic Integration, Democracy and the Welfare State

Abstract: The article examines the difficulties of European welfare states in the face of European economic integration Taking a clue from the experience of territorial sub-units in economically integrated federal nation states, the implication seems to be that economic competition impedes welfare state regulations that impose unequal burdens on capital incomes and mobile business, and that effective welfare state policies depend on the powers of central governments By analogy, that would suggest a need for the Europeanization of social policy At the European level, however, welfare state policies are impeded not only by the European democratic deficit, but also by deeprooted conflicts of economic interest among member states, and by the widely divergent structural characteristics of national welfare states The article examines the implications of this constellation for democratic legitimacy In the concluding section, discussion focuses on social policy options that may still be viable at the national level, a

Potential for carbon sequestration in European soils: preliminary estimates for five scenarios using results from long-term experiments

Abstract: One of the main options for carbon mitigation identified by the IPCC is the sequestration of carbon in soils. In this paper we use statistical relationships derived from European long-term experiments to explore the potential for carbon sequestration in soils in the European Union. We examine five scenarios, namely (a) the amendment of arable soils with animal manure, (b) the amendment of arable soils with sewage sludge, (c) the incorporation of cereal straw into the soils in which it was grown, (d) the afforestation of surplus arable land through natural woodland regeneration, and (e) extensification of agriculture through ley-arable farming. Our calculations suggest only limited potential to increase soil carbon stocks over the next century by addition of animal manure, sewage sludge or straw (< 15 Tg C y(-1)), but greater potential through extensification of agriculture (approximate to 40 Tg C y(-1)) or through the afforestation of surplus arable land (approximate to 50 Tg C y(-1)). We estimate that extensification could increase the total soil carbon stock of the European Union by 17%. Afforestation of 30% of present arable land would increase soil carbon stocks by about 8% over a century and would substitute up to 30 Tg C y(-1) of fossil fuel carbon if the wood were used as biofuel. However, even the afforestation scenario, with the greatest potential for carbon mitigation, can sequester only 0.8% of annual global anthropogenic CO2-carbon. Our figures suggest that, although efforts in temperate agriculture can contribute to global carbon mitigation, the potential is small compared to that available through reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions by halting tropical and sub-tropical deforestation or by reducing fossil fuel burning.

High-speed rail in Europe: experience and issues for future development

Abstract: The development of High-Speed Rail has been one of the central features of recent European Union transport infrastructure policy. This paper reviews the developments which have taken place in a number of countries and assesses the outcome. It identifies the lack of genuine network development which has taken place, criticises the failure to provide a more integrated framework between modes and questions the assumptions of improved regional development and cohesion which are claimed for the policy. Instead there is evidence of increasing concentration into the main metropolitan centres served by the emerging network.

Characterization of the lactic acid bacteria in artisanal dairy products

Abstract: The European Union is thanked for partly financing this project under ECLAIR contract CT-91-0064.

The evolution of the large firm as a political actor in the European Union

Abstract: The establishment of the European single market, the Maastricht accords and the development of a pan-European firm have all contributed to the creation of a European political marketplace with a myriad of access points. Why the large firm has changed its locus of political activity towards the European Union (EU), and what form this new political action has taken are the focus of this article. Based on a study of ninety-four of Europe's largest firms, this article outlines how firms, as individual actors, have come to play such a prominent role in the EU policy process, and assesses their current lobbying preferences for political channels to the EU. In recognizing the political sophistication of firms, the article concludes that firms are now able to recognize and construct strategic alliances with rival firms and countervailing interests to create European identities and facilitate access to new European policy forums.

Policy-making in the European Union

Abstract: Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.

The Making of a Polity: The Struggle over European Integration

Abstract: The reorganization of European political economy since the mid 1980s has had to come to terms with two of the most fundamental issues of political life: the structuration of political authority and participation, and the scope of authoritative decision making in the economy. The European Union continues to serve as a means for achieving narrow collective goods, but these larger questions are never far from view. This paper argues that European political economy is being shaped by an intense debate which has mobilized leaders, political parties, interest groups, social movements and, on occasion, the wider public. This struggle is neither a random conflict of interests, nor a reflection of functional pressures. We hypothesize EU politics is structured along two dimensions: a left-right dimension ranging from social democracy to market liberalism; and a national-supranational dimension ranging from support for the restoration of national state autonomy to support for further European integration. Kurzfassung Die Reorganisation der politischen Okonomie Europas seit der Mitte der 80er Jahre muste mit zwei der fundamentalsten Themen des politischen Lebens zurandekommen: der Strukturierung politischer Macht und Beteiligung einerseits, sowie der Reichweite von staatlichen Entscheidungen in der Wirtschaft andererseits. Die Europaische Union dient zwar weiterhin als ein Mittel zur Bereitstellung bestimmter offentlicher Guter, doch diese groseren Fragestellungen bleiben nie ganz auser Betracht. Dieses Papier argumentiert, das die politische Okonomie Europas durch eine intensive Debatte gepragt ist, welche die Fuhrungspersonlichkeiten, politische Parteien, Interessensvertretungen, Burgerbewegungen und bisweilen die Offentlichkeit mobilisiert hat. Dieser Kampf ist weder ein zufalliger Interessenskonflikt noch die Widerspiegelung von funktionalen Zwangen. Wir stellen die Hypothese auf, das die Politik auf EU-Ebene entlang zweier Dimensionen strukturiert ist: eine Links-Rechts-Dimension, die von der Sozialdemokratie bis zum Marktliberalismus reicht, und eine nationalstaatlich-supranationale Dimension, die von der Unterstutzung der Restauration der nationalstaatlichen Autonomie bis zur Unterstutzung weitergehender europaischer Integration reicht.

European Bans on Surfactant Trigger Transatlantic Debate

Abstract: U.S. and European regulators and researchers disagree over risks of a common class of surfactants.

Influences on food choice perceived to be important by nationally-representative samples of adults in the European Union

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this baseline survey was to obtain comparable data on perceived influences on food choice from EU member countries as the starting point for EU healthy eating promotion campaigns and programmes.DESIGN: A cross-sectional study in which quota-controlled, nationally-representative samples of approximately 1000 adults from each country completed a face-to-face interview-assisted questionnaire.SETTING: The survey was conducted between October 1995 and February 1996 in the 15 member states of the European Union.SUBJECTS: 14331 subjects (aged 15 y upwards) completed the questionnaire. Data were weighted by population size for each country and by sex, age and regional distribution within each member state.RESULTS: The five most important factors influencing consumers food choice were 'quality or freshness' (74%), 'price' (43%), 'taste' (38%), 'trying to eat healthy' (32%) and 'family preferences' (29%). Subjects in different categories (age, sex, education and employment status) selected different factors as having major influence on their food choice. Demographic factors seemed to have greater effects on perceived influences than culture (country): 'quality/freshness', 'price', 'trying to eat healthy', 'family preferences' seemed to be most important in women, 'taste' and 'habit' in males. Females and older and more educated subjects were more likely than other subjects to select 'trying to eat healthy' as having a major influence. 'Price' seemed most important in unemployed and retired subjects.

The Invention of Regions: Political Restructuring and Territorial Government in Western Europe

Abstract: Regionalism has come back to prominence, as the political, economic, cultural, and social meaning of space is changing in contemporary Europe. In some ways, politics, economics, and public policies are deterritorializing; but at the same time and in other ways, there is a reterritorialization of economic, political, and governmental activity. The ‘new regionalism’ is the product of this decomposition and recomposition of the territorial framework of public life, consequent on changes in the state, the market, and the international context. Functional needs, institutional restructuring, and political mobilization all play a role. Regionalism must now be placed in the context of the international market and the European Union, as well as the nation-state.

Economic Conditions, Economic Perceptions, and Public Support for European Integration

Abstract: Public attitudes play an important-sometimes crucial-role in the process of European integration. This is evident from the two most recent attempts at institutional and geographical reform of the European Union (EU). In a June 1992 referendum, the Danish public effectively halted the further institutional and economic integration of Europe by rejecting the Treaty on European Union. Two years later, Norwegian voters chose to reject membership in the EU. Less obviously, but more regularly, public attitudes influence EU policymaking through traditional political channels such as elections and lobbying. How do Europeans structure their attitudes toward integration? Given that economic growth and development are both central motivations for integration and among the predominant responsibilities of the European Union (EU), it seems reasonable that the EU public would evaluate integration based upon economic criteria. Previous studies have investigated this hypothesis in two ways. First, Gabel and Palmer (1995) investigated how the differential economic benefits of integrative policy relate to individual-level differences in public support for integration. They found that EU citizens' support for integration varies consistently with the differential benefits associated with occupational skills, education, wealth, and intra-EU trade. Eichenberg and Dalton (1993) investigated how objective national economic conditions and national net return from the EU budget related to national-level variation in

The Economics of Industrial Innovation, 3rd Edition

Abstract: Technical innovation has moved to center stage in contemporary debates on economic theory and policy, and Chris Freeman and Luc Soete have played a prominent part in these debates. For this new edition of The Economics of Industrial Innovation, they have rewritten all the existing chapters and added ten new ones that address recent advances in theory and in policymaking. In the new chapters they deal with the international dimensions of technical change including underdevelopment, technology transfer, international trade, and globalization. They have also strengthened the historical account of the rise of new technologies, a main feature of earlier editions. They take advantage of their experience on projects for the OECD, the European Union, and industry in other new chapters on "The Information Society" and on environmental issues, as well as in the updated discussion of science and technology policy.

Representing interests in the European Union

Abstract: Introduction: Representing Interests in the European Union - PART 1: THE NATURE OF EUROPEAN LEVEL INTEREST REPRESENTATION - EU Decision Making and Channels of Influence - The Nature and Resources of Groups - The Regulation of Interest Representation - PART 2: THE RANGE OF INTERESTS IN EUROPEAN LEVEL INTEREST REPRESENTATION - Business Interests - Professional Interests - Labour Interests - Public Interests - Territorial Interests - Conclusions: Interests and European Integration

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction in anaerobic sediments leading to river nitrite accumulation

Abstract: Recent studies on Northern Ireland rivers have shown that summer nitrite (NO(inf2)(sup-)) concentrations greatly exceed the European Union guideline of 3 (mu)g of N liter(sup-1) for rivers supporting salmonid fisheries. In fast-flowing aerobic small streams, NO(inf2)(sup-) is thought to originate from nitrification, due to the retardation of Nitrobacter strains by the presence of free ammonia. Multiple regression analyses of NO(inf2)(sup-) concentrations against water quality variables of the six major rivers of the Lough Neagh catchment in Northern Ireland, however, suggested that the high NO(inf2)(sup-) concentrations found in the summer under warm, slow-flow conditions may result from the reduction of NO(inf3)(sup-). This hypothesis was supported by field observations of weekly changes in N species. Here, reduction of NO(inf3)(sup-) was observed to occur simultaneously with elevation of NO(inf2)(sup-) levels and subsequently NH(inf4)(sup+) levels, indicating that dissimilatory NO(inf3)(sup-) reduction to NH(inf4)(sup+) (DNRA) performed by fermentative bacteria (e.g., Aeromonas and Vibrio spp.) is responsible for NO(inf2)(sup-) accumulation in these large rivers. Mechanistic studies in which (sup15)N-labelled NO(inf3)(sup-) in sediment extracts was used provided further support for this hypothesis. Maximal concentrations of NO(inf2)(sup-) accumulation (up to 1.4 mg of N liter(sup-1)) were found in sediments deeper than 6 cm associated with a high concentration of metabolizable carbon and anaerobic conditions. The (sup15)N enrichment of the NO(inf2)(sup-) was comparable to that of the NO(inf3)(sup-) pool, indicating that the NO(inf2)(sup-) was predominantly NO(inf3)(sup-) derived. There is evidence which suggests that the high NO(inf2)(sup-) concentrations observed arose from the inhibition of the DNRA NO(inf2)(sup-) reductase system by NO(inf3)(sup-).

Cross-National Variation in the Political Sophistication of Individuals: Capability or Choice?

Abstract: We argue that structural and contextual factors substantially affect the costs and benefits to individuals of becoming politically sophisticated. If the party system, the electoral system, and legislative institutions of a polity affect the availability, clarity, and usefulness of political information, they will also account for some of the cross-national variance in any individual-level measure of sophistication. Testing the Ordinary Least Squares model using cross-national survey data from the twelve nations of the pre-1995 European Union, we find substantial support for the hypothesized relationships. This support remains robust when we control for individual-level factors, and the model explains virtually all of the available cross-national variance.

Specialisation patterns in Europe

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether specialisation has increased in European Union countries, and to determine whether specialisation patterns are consistent with trade theories. I present evidence of increasing specialisation in European Union countries between 1968 and 1990. I identify which industries have increased in geographical concentration and show that the characteristics of these industries are consistent with what is predicted by trade theories. The industries with increasing geographical concentration are characterised by high scale economies and high proportions of intermediate goods in production, providing support for the new trade theories and the economic geography theories.