Showing papers on "European union published in 2000"

The Generalized Dynamic-Factor Model: Identification and Estimation

Abstract: This paper proposes a factor model with infinite dynamics and nonorthogonal idiosyncratic components. The model, which we call the generalized dynamic-factor model, is novel to the literature and generalizes the static approximate factor model of Chamberlain and Rothschild (1983), as well as the exact factor model a la Sargent and Sims (1977). We provide identification conditions, propose an estimator of the common components, prove convergence as both time and cross-sectional size go to infinity at appropriate rates, and present simulation results. We use our model to construct a coincident index for the European Union. Such index is defined as the common component of real GDP within a model including several macroeconomic variables for each European country.

Methane production by ruminants: its contribution to global warming

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to review the role of methane in the global warming scenario and to examine the contribution to atmospheric methane made by enteric fermentation, mainly by ruminants. Agricultural emissions of methane in the EU-15 have recently been estimated at 10.2 million tonnes per year and represent the greatest source. Of these, approximately two-thirds come from enteric fermentation and one-third from livestock manure. Fermentation of feeds in the rumen is the largest source of methane from enteric fermentation and this paper considers in detail the reasons for, and the consequences of, the fact that the molar percentage of the different volatile fatty acids produced during fermentation influences the production of methane in the rumen. Acetate and butyrate promote methane production while propionate formation can be considered as a competitive pathway for hydrogen use in the rumen. The many alternative approaches to reducing methane are considered, both in terms of reduction per animal and reduction per unit of animal product. It was concluded that the most promising areas for future research for reducing methanogenesis are the development of new products/delivery systems for anti-methanogenic compounds or alternative electron acceptors in the rumen and reduction in protozoal numbers in the rumen. It is also stressed that the reason ruminants are so important to mankind is that much of the world's biomass is rich in fibre. They can convert this into high quality protein sources (i.e. meat and milk) for human consumption and this will need to be balanced against the concomitant production of methane.

The European Union and the Securitization of Migration

Abstract: This article deals with the question of how migration has developed into a security issue in western Europe and how the European integration process is implicated in it. Since the 1980s, the political construction of migration increasingly referred to the destabilizing effects of migration on domestic integration and to the dangers for public order it implied. The spillover of the internal market into a European internal security question mirrors these domestic developments at the European level. The Third Pillar on Justice and Home Affairs, the Schengen Agreements, and the Dublin Convention most visibly indicate that the European integration process is implicated in the development of a restrictive migration policy and the social construction of migration into a security question. However, the political process of connecting migration to criminal and terrorist abuses of the internal market does not take place in isolation. It is related to a wider politicization in which immigrants and asylum-seekers are portrayed as a challenge to the protection of national identity and welfare provisions. Moreover, supporting the political construction of migration as a security issue impinges on and is embedded in the politics of belonging in western Europe. It is an integral part of the wider technocratic and political process in which professional agencies ‐ such as the police and customs ‐ and political agents ‐ such as social

The Postnational Constellation: Political Essays

Abstract: translated, edited, and with an introduction by Max Pensky Does a global economy render the traditional nation-state obsolete? Does globalization threaten democratic life, or offer it new forms of expression? What are the implications of globalization for our understanding of politics and of national and cultural identities?In The Postnational Constellation, Jurgen Habermas addresses these and other questions. He explores the historical and political origins of national identity, the achievements and catastrophes of the twentieth century, the future of democracy in the wake of the era of the nation-state, the political and moral challenges facing the European Union, and the status of global human rights in the ongoing debate on the sources of cultural identity. In their scope, critical insight, and clarity, the essays present a powerful vision of the contemporary political scene and the opportunities and challenges facing us. Those new to Habermas's work will find in this book a lucid and engaging introduction to one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers. Those familiar with Habermas's writings will appreciate the application of his social and political theories to current political realities.

Building Europe: The Cultural Politics of European Integration

Abstract: Introduction Part One: Inventing Europe 1. Forging a European Nation-State? The European Union and Questions of Culture 2. Creating the People's Europe: Symbols, History and Invented Traditions 3. Citizenship of the Union. The Cultural Construction of a European Citizen 4. Symbolizing Boundaries: The Single Currency and the Art of European Governance Part Two: EU Civil Servants. The New Europeans? 5. A Supranational Civil Service? The Role of the Commission in the Integration Process 6. The Brussels Context. Integration and Engrenage among EU Elites 7. Transnational, Supranational or Post-National? The Organisational Culture of the Commission Conclusions

Temozolomide and treatment of malignant glioma.

Abstract: Malignant gliomas (glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma) occur more frequently than other types of primary central nervous system tumors, having a combined incidence of 5-8/100,000 population. Even with aggressive treatment using surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, median reported survival is less than 1 year. Temozolomide, a new drug, has shown promise in treating malignant gliomas and other difficult-to-treat tumors. Temozolomide, a p.o. imidazotetrazine second-generation alkylating agent, is the leading compound in a new class of chemotherapeutic agents that enter the cerebrospinal fluid and do not require hepatic metabolism for activation. In vitro, temozolomide has demonstrated schedule-dependent antitumor activity against highly resistant malignancies, including high-grade glioma. In clinical studies, temozolomide consistently demonstrates reproducible linear pharmacokinetics with approximately 100% p.o. bioavailability, noncumulative minimal myelosuppression that is rapidly reversible, and activity against a variety of solid tumors in both children and adults. Preclinical studies have evaluated the combination of temozolomide with other alkylating agents and inhibitors of the DNA repair protein O6-alkylguanine alkyltransferase to overcome resistance to chemotherapy in malignant glioma and malignant metastatic melanoma. Temozolomide has recently been approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with refractory anaplastic astrocytoma and, in the European Union, for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme showing progression or recurrence after standard therapy. Predictable bioavailability and minimal toxicity make temozolomide a candidate for a wide range of clinical testing to evaluate the potential of combination treatments in different tumor types. An overview of the mechanism of action of temozolomide and a summary of results from clinical trials in malignant glioma are presented here.

Public-private partnerships : theory and practice in international perspective

Abstract: Introduction Understanding public - private partnerships in international perspective: globally convergent or nationally divergent phenomena? Stephen P Osborne Part I Understanding public - private partnerships 1. The theory of partnerships - why have partnership? Ron McQuaid 2. Public - private partnerships: sectoral comparisons Peter Carroll and Peter Steane 3. Public - private partnerships. Rethinking the boundary between public and private law Gavin Drewry 4. Understanding the process of public - private partnerships Stephen P Osborne and Vic Murray 5. Governing public - private partnerships. Analysing and managing processes and institutional characteristics of public - private partnerships Erik-Hans Klijn and Geert Teisman Part II Understanding and contrasting public contexts for public - private partnerships 6. Public - private partnerships in the United States: historical patterns and current trends Lynne Moulton and Helmut K Anheier 7. Public - private partnerships and the 'new Labour' government in Britain Peter K Falconer and Kathleen Ross 8. The East Asia region: do public - private partnerships make sense? Richard Common 9. The decline of the Leviathan: state, market and civil society in South-east Asia Gerald Clarke Part III Public - private partnerships in international perspective: practice and management 10. Public - private partnerships in the European Union. Officially suspect, in daily practice embraced Geert Teisman and Erik-Hans Klijn 11. Transforming the state into a partner in cooperative development. An evaluation of NGO - government partnership in the Philippines Teresa S Encarnacion Tadem 12. The propensity, persistence and performance of public - private partnerships in Sweden Sven-Olof Collin and Lennert Hansson 13. Partnerships in Pittsburgh: the evaluation of complex local initiatives Brian Jacobs 14. Rural Action for the Environment in the UK: developing partnerships and promoting learning through networks Mike Tricker 15. Building 'active' partnerships in aid-recipient countries: lessons from a rural development project in Bangladesh David Lewis 16. Partnership between local government and the local community in the area of social policy: an Hungarian experience Gyorgy Jenei and Anna Vari Part IV Evaluating public - private partnerships 17. Evaluating the impact of public - private partnerships: a Canadian perspective Vic Murray 18. What makes partnerships work? Chris Huxham and Siv Vangen 19. NGO partners: the characteristics of effective development partnerships John Hailey Conclusions A one-way street or two-way traffic? Can public-private partnerships impact upon the policy making process? Ka

Introduction: Legalization and World Politics

Abstract: In many issue-areas, the world is witnessing a move to law. As the century turned, governments and individuals faced the following international legal actions. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain's ban on homosexuals in the armed forces violates the right to privacy, contravening Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia indicted Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic during a NATO bombing campaign to force Yugoslav forces out of Kosovo. Milosevic remains in place in Belgrade, but Austrian police, bearing a secret indictment from the International Criminal Tribunal, arrested a Bosnian Serb general who was attending a conference in Vienna. In economic affairs the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body found in favor of the United States and against the European Union (EU) regarding European discrimination against certain Latin American banana exporters. A U.S. district court upheld the constitutionality of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) against claims that its dispute-resolution provisions violated U. S. sovereignty. In a notable environmental judgment, the new Law of the Sea Tribunal ordered the Japanese to cease all fishing for southern bluefin tuna for the rest of the year.

Legislative Politics in the European Union

Abstract: This paper compares legislative dynamics under all procedures in which the Council of Ministers votes by qualified majority (QMV). We make five major points. First, the EU governments have sought to reduce the democratic deficit by increasing the powers of the European Parliament since 1987, whereas they have lessened the legislative influence of the Commission. Under the Amsterdam treaty's version of the codecision procedure, the Parliament is a coequal legislator with the Council, whereas the Commission's influence is likely to be more informal than formal. Second, as long as the Parliament acts as a pro-integration entrepreneur, policy outcomes under consultation, cooperation and the new codecision will be more integrationist than the QMV-pivot in the Council prefers. Third, the pace of European integration may slow down if MEPs become more responsive to the demands of their constituents. Fourth, the EU is evolving into a bicameral legislature with a heavy status quo bias. Not only does the Council use...

Policy Transfer in the European Union: Institutional Isomorphism as a Source of Legitimacy

Abstract: This article examines public policy in the European Union (EU) by drawing upon the framework of policy transfer, which has been recently refined by comparativists, and the concept of isomorphism developed within organizational theory. Three case studies—namely, the single currency, tax policy and media ownership policy—are discussed and compared with the aim of assessing the potential of isomorphism for the analysis of policy dif-fusion. The author argues that European institutions, which have a serious limitation in terms of legitimacy, stimulate policy transfer by catalyzing isomorphic processes. Policy transfer, however, is constrained when there are no national cases to be imitated. Yet European institutions, most notably the European Commission, can overcome the problem by “inseminating” solutions into national political systems.

Welfare regimes and the experience of unemployment in Europe

Abstract: 1. The Experience of Unemployment in Europe: The Debate PART 1: UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY 2. Unemployment and Poverty: Change over Time 3. Poverty and Financial Hardship among the Unemployed 4. Unemployment and Income Packaging among European Youth 5. The Changing Effects of Social Protection on Poverty PART 2: UNEMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR MARKET MARGINALISATION 6. Unemployment, Gender and Attitudes to Work 7. The Permanent Effects of Labour Market Entry in Times of High Unemployment 8. Unemployment and Cumulative Disadvantage in the Labour Market 9. Poverty and the Employment of Lone Mothers 10. Social Capital and Exits from Unemployment 11. Who Exits Unemployment? Institutional Features, Individual Characteristics and Chances of Getting a Job. A Comparison of Britain and Italy PART 3 : UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION 12. The Effects of Employment Precarity and Unemployment on Social Isolation 13. United in Employment, United in Unemployment? Employment and Unemployment of Couples in the European Union 14. Unemployment and Psychological Well-Being 15. Gender and the Experience of Unemployment 16. Public Attitudes to Unemployment in Different Welfare Regimes CONCLUSION The Social Regulation of Unemployment

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the CEECs: New evidence from sectoral patterns

Abstract: This paper investigates the determinants of European Union FDI in the CEECs at sectoral level. The aim is to understand whether and to what extent FDI undertaken in different sectors reacts to the characteristics of the host countries. The analysis is based on a dataset created specifically for this purpose. It concentrates on the manufacturing sectors, classified according to the Pavitt taxonomy. Firstly, data summarizing the recent trend of FDI in the CEECs is presented and then empirical evidence given to account for differences between sectors. The estimated model is a generalization of a three-way fixed effect model incorporating ‘classic’ variables, such as labour costs as well as country-specific variables, i.e., the stage reached in the transition process. The results confirm the presence of heterogeneity at sector level.

National borders and international trade: evidence from the European Union

Abstract: In this paper the impact of national borders on international trade within the European Union is considered. Using a gravity model, I find that, averaged over all EU countries, intranational trade is about ten times as high as international trade with an EU partner country of similar size and distance. This relatively strong home bias suggests that even within the European Union national borders still have a decisive impact on trade patterns. JEL Classification: F02, F14, F15, O52 Ce memoire examine l'impact des frontieres nationales sur le commerce international a l'interieur de l'Union europeenne. On montre que, en moyenne pour tous les pays de l'Union europeenne, le commerce intranational est a peu pres dix fois plus important que le commerce international avec un pays partenaire de l'Union europeenne de meme taille et a meme distance. Ce degre relativement important de preference nationale suggere que, meme dans le cadre de l'Union europeenne, les frontieres nationales ont encore un impact determinant sur les patterns de commerce.

How do types of employment relate to health indicators? Findings from the Second European Survey on Working Conditions

Abstract: Study objective—To investigate the associations of various types of employment with six self reported health indicators, taking into account the part played by demographic variables, individual working conditions and four ecological indicators at the country level. Design—Cross sectional survey (structured interview) of a sample of the active population of 15 European countries aged 15 years or over. Main independent variables were nine types of employment categorised as follows: small employers, full and part time permanent employees, full and part time fixed term employees, full and part time sole traders and full and part time temporary contracts. Main outcome measures were three self reported health related outcomes (job satisfaction, health related absenteeism, and stress) and three self reported health problems (overall fatigue, backache, and muscular pains). Logistic regression and multilevel models were used in the analyses. Setting—15 countries of the European Union. Participants—15 146 employed persons aged 15 or over.

Mainstreaming gender in the European Union

Abstract: This article examines and explains the adoption of gender mainstreaming by the European Union (EU), and traces its implementation in five issue-areas of EU policy: Structural Funds, employment, development, competition, and science, research and development. The EU decision to adopt gender mainstreaming, as well as its variable implementation across issue-areas, can be explained in terms of three factors derived from social movement theory: the political opportunities offered by EU institutions in various issue-areas; the mobilizing structures, or European networks, established among the advocates of gender equality; and the efforts of such advocates to strategically frame the gender-mainstreaming mandate so as to ensure its acceptance by EU policy-makers.

Democracy in the European Union: Integration Through Deliberation?

Abstract: 1. Post-national integration Erik Oddvar Eriksen and John Erik Fossum 2. Beyond the Nation-State? On Some Consequences of Economic Globalization Jurgen Habermas 3. Deliberative Supranationalism in the EU Erik Oddvar Eriksen 4. The Uses of Democracy: Reflections on the European Democratic Deficit Richard Bellamy and Dario Castiglione 5. Subsidiarity and Democratic Deliberation Andreas Follesdal 6. Constitution-making in the European Union John Erik Fossum 7. The Anonymous Hand of Public Reason. Interparliamentary Discourse and the Quest for Legitimacy Lars Chr. Blichner 8. Challenging the Bureaucratic Challenge Christian Joerges and Michelle Everson 9. Demanding Public Deliberation. The Council of Ministers: Some Lessons from the Anglo-American History Roberto Gargarella 10. Can the European Union Become a Sphere of Publics? Philip Schlesinger and Deidre Kevin 11. Indigenous Rights and the Limitations of the Nation State Else Grete Broderstad 12. Erik Oddvar Eriksen and John Erik Fossum Conclusion Bibliography

Meeting Europe's climate change commitments: quantitative estimates of the potential for carbon mitigation by agriculture

Abstract: Summary Under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union is committed to a reduction in CO2 emissions to 92% of baseline (1990) levels during the first commitment period (2008–2012). The Kyoto Protocol allows carbon emissions to be offset by demonstrable removal of carbon from the atmosphere. Thus, land-use/land-management change and forestry activities that are shown to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels can be included in the Kyoto targets. These activities include afforestation, reforestation and deforestation (article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocol) and the improved management of agricultural soils (article 3.4). In this paper, we estimate the carbon mitigation potential of various agricultural land-management strategies and examine the consequences of European policy options on carbon mitigation potential, by examining combinations of changes in agricultural land-use/land-management. We show that no single land-management change in isolation can mitigate all of the carbon needed to meet Europe's climate change commitments, but integrated combinations of land-management strategies show considerable potential for carbon mitigation. Three of the combined scenarios, one of which is an optimal realistic scenario, are by themselves able to meet Europe's emission limitation or reduction commitments. Through combined land-management scenarios, we show that the most important resource for carbon mitigation in agriculture is the surplus arable land. We conclude that in order to fully exploit the potential of arable land for carbon mitigation, policies will need to be implemented to allow surplus arable land to be put into alternative long-term land-use. Of all options examined, bioenergy crops show the greatest potential for carbon mitigation. Bioenergy crop production also shows an indefinite mitigation potential compared to other options where the mitigation potential is finite. We suggest that in order to exploit fully the bioenergy option, the infrastructure for bioenergy production needs to be significantly enhanced before the beginning of the first Kyoto commitment period in 2008. It is not expected that Europe will attempt to meet its climate change commitments solely through changes in agricultural land-use. A reduction in CO2-carbon emissions will be key to meeting Europe's Kyoto targets, and forestry activities (Kyoto Article 3.3) will play a major role. In this study, however, we demonstrate the considerable potential of changes in agricultural land-use and -management (Kyoto Article 3.4) for carbon mitigation and highlight the policies needed to promote these agricultural activities. As all sources of carbon mitigation will be important in meeting Europe's climate change commitments, agricultural carbon mitigation options should be taken very seriously.

The Alexander Project 1996–1997: latest susceptibility data from this international study of bacterial pathogens from community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections

Abstract: The Alexander Project was established in 1992 to examine antimicrobial susceptibilities of bacterial isolates from community-acquired infections of the lower respiratory tract. Testing of a range of compounds was undertaken in a central laboratory. From 1992 to 1995, isolates were collected from geographically separated areas in countries in the European Union and various states in the USA. In 1996, the study was extended to include centres in Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Hong Kong and other European countries not included previously. Data generated by the project during 1996-1997 confirm France and Spain as European centres with high rates of resistance to penicillin among isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Both intermediate (MIC 0. 12-1 mg/L) and resistant (MIC 2 mg/L) phenotypes are present. Combined resistance rates (intermediate and resistant) were >/=50% in 1997. Combined resistance rates in excess of 20% were found in the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and Hungary. Penicillin resistance continues to evolve in the USA, with combined resistance rates of 16.4% (1996) and 18.6% (1997). In the new, non-European centres, e.g. Mexico and, in particular, Hong Kong (where resistant strains accounted for 50% of all isolates of S. pneumoniae in 1996 and 55.5% in 1997), there are centres where rates of resistance are high. Macrolide resistance is increasing generally among both penicillin-resistant and penicillin-susceptible isolates of S. pneumoniae. There is variation between countries, and in four out of the 16 centres for which both 1996 and 1997 data are available, rates of macrolide resistance have fallen. Overall, the percentage of S. pneumoniae strains that is resistant to macrolides exceeds the percentage that is resistant to penicillin. In 1996, 16. 5% of all S. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to macrolides compared with 10.4% resistant to penicillin, and in 1997 respective rates were 21.9% and 14.1%. beta-Lactamase production was the principal mechanism of resistance observed among isolates of Haemophilus influenzae. However, considerable variation in the percentage of isolates producing beta-lactamase (0-37.1%) was observed within this species. Within Europe, in the Republic of Ireland, France and Belgium, more than 15% of isolates were beta-lactamase producers. In Spain rates were as high as 31.7%. Outside Europe and the USA high rates were described in Mexico (25%), Saudi Arabia (27.9%, 16.7%) and Hong Kong (37.1%, 28.9%). Of H. influenzae from the USA, 30.4% were beta-lactamase producers in 1996 and 23.3% in 1997. beta-Lactamase production among isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis was observed in >90% of the isolates tested in 1996 and 1997.

Endogenous Development, Social Capital and Social Inclusion: perspectives from leader in the UK

Abstract: There is a danger of subscribing too readily to the rhetoric of participative development. The communitarian assumptions of the endogenous approach privilege a ‘territory’ as potentially homogenous and gloss over internal socio-economic and cultural inequality. The insights of Bourdieu are particularly instructive here. This paper argues that leader-type programmes need to include pro-active action targeted at raising the social and cultural capital of individuals and of disadvantaged groups (either of which happen to be in the area, but not innately defined by the area).The ideas are illustrated in relation to leader in the United Kingdom.

How to Democratize the European Union...and Why Bother

Abstract: Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Citizenship Chapter 4 Representation Chapter 5 Decision-Making Chapter 6 Why Bother to Democratize the Euro-polity?

Socioeconomic inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality; an international study.

Abstract: Background Differences between socioeconomic groups in mortality from and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases have been reported in many countries. We have made a comparative analysis of these inequalities in the United States and 11 western European countries. The aims of the analysis were (1) to compare the size of inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality between countries, and (2) to explore the possible contribution of cardiovascular risk factors to the explanation of between-country differences in inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality. Data and Methods Data on ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and total cardiovascular disease mortality by occupational class and/or educational level were obtained from national longitudinal or unlinked cross-sectional studies. Data on smoking, alcohol consumption, overweight and infrequent consumption of fresh vegetables by occupational class and/or educational level were obtained from national health interview or multipurpose surveys and from the European Union's Eurobarometer survey. Age-adjusted rate ratios for mortality were correlated with age-adjusted odds ratios for the behavioural risk factors. Results In all countries mortality from cardiovascular diseases is higher among persons with lower occupational class or lower educational level. Within western Europe, a north–south gradient is apparent, with relative and absolute inequalities being larger in the north than in the south. For ischaemic heart disease, but not for cerebrovascular disease, an even more striking north–south gradient is seen, with some ‘reverse’ inequalities in southern Europe. The United States occupy intermediate positions on most indicators. Inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality are associated with inequalities in some risk factors, especially cigarette smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality are a major public health problem in most industrialized countries. Closing the gap between low and high socioeconomic groups offers great potential for reducing cardiovascular disease mortality. Developing effective methods of behavioural risk factor reduction in the lower socioeconomic groups should be a top priority in cardiovascular disease prevention.

International Socialization in the New Europe: Rational Action in an Institutional Environment

Abstract: The international relations of the `new Europe' are shaped by a process of international socialization in which the Western community transmits its constitutive liberal norms to Central and Eastern Europe. This process neither fits rationalist assumptions about international politics in a technical environment nor sociological theories of action. Rather, international socialization in the new Europe is best explained as a process of rational action in a normatively institutionalized international environment. Under these conditions, rational state behaviour is constrained by value-based norms of legitimate statehood and proper conduct. Selfish political actors conform to these norms in order to reap the benefits of international legitimacy, but as instrumental actors they also calculate whether these benefits are worth the costs of conformity and how they can be reaped efficiently. An empirical analysis of the behaviour of the Western socialization agencies and the CEE countries supports this perspective ...

Occupational exposure to carcinogens in the European Union.

Abstract: Objectives—To construct a computer assisted information system for the estimation of the numbers of workers exposed to established and suspected human carcinogens in the member states of the European Union (EU). Methods—A database called CAREX (carcinogen exposure) was designed to provide selected exposure data and documented estimates of the number of workers exposed to carcinogens by country, carcinogen, and industry. CAREX includes data on agents evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (all agents in groups 1 and 2A as of February 1995, and selected agents in group 2B) and on ionising radiation, displayed across the 55 industrial classes. The 1990‐3 occupational exposure was estimated in two phases. Firstly, estimates were generated by the CAREX system on the basis of national labour force data and exposure prevalence estimates from two reference countries (Finland and the United States) which had the most comprehensive data available on exposures to these agents. For selected countries, these estimates were then refined by national experts in view of the perceived exposure patterns in their own countries compared with those of the reference countries. Results—About 32 million workers (23% of those employed) in the EU were exposed to agents covered by CAREX. At least 22 million workers were exposed to IARC group 1 carcinogens. The exposed workers had altogether 42 million exposures (1.3 mean exposures for each exposed worker). The most common exposures were solar radiation (9.1 million workers exposed at least 75% of working time), environmental tobacco smoke (7.5 million workers exposed at least 75% of working time), crystalline silica (3.2 million exposed), diesel exhaust (3.0 million), radon (2.7 million), and wood dust (2.6 million). Conclusion—These preliminary estimates indicate that in the early 1990s, a substantial proportion of workers in the EU were exposed to carcinogens. (Occup Environ Med 2000;57:10‐18)

Exploratory spatial data analysis of the distribution of regional per capita GDP in Europe, 1980-1995

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the dynamics of European regional per capita product over time and space. This purpose is achieved by using the recently developed methods of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis. Using a sample of European regions over the 1980-1995 period, we find strong evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation in per capita GDP throughout the period. The detection of clusters of high and low per capita products during the period is an indication of the persistence of spatial disparities between European regions. This analysis is finally refined by the investigation of the spatial pattern of regional growth. Key words:exploratory spatial data analysis; distribution of regional per capita GDP; European Union; spatial autocorrelation; regional inequalities

National Adaptation to European Integration: The Importance of Institutional Veto Points

Abstract: The repercussions of European integration on national policymaking have increasingly drawn scholarly attention, yet, the determinants of national adaptation to the European Union are still poorly understood. This article takes issue with evolving arguments which grant crucial importance to the "goodness of fit" between European provisions and national rules and practices for explaining the degree of national adjustment to European requirements. In the case of the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the country with the greatest misfit, the United Kingdom, adapted more successfully than the country which only needed incremental adjustments, Germany. The German record was also worse than the Dutch, despite the higher adaptation pressure of the latter. The case study suggests that the number of institutional veto points that central governments has to face when imposing European provisions on their constituencies, ultimately tend to shape the pace and quality of implementation, regardless of differential degrees in the goodness of fit.