Showing papers on "European union published in 2006"

Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth

Abstract: Public policy spanning a broad range of contexts, ranging from the European Union, to states, cities and local communities around the globe, has turned to entrepreneurship to provide the engine for economic growth, competitiveness in globally linked markets, and jobs. This book explains why entrepreneurship has emerged as a bona fide instrument of growth policy. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship suggests that entrepreneurship provides a crucial mechanism in the process of economic growth by serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers. Investments in new knowledge and ideas may not automatically spill over and result in commercialization, as has typically been assumed in models of economic growth. Rather, the existence of what is introduced as the knowledge filter impedes the spillover and commercialization of investments in new ideas and knowledge. By penetrating the knowledge filter and facilitating the spillover of knowledge that might otherwise not be commercialized, entrepreneurship provides the missing link to economic growth. This new focus of entrepreneurship as a conduit transmitting the spillover of knowledge generates a series of theoretical propositions, involving not just the impact of entrepreneurship on economic performance and growth, but also the very nature of entrepreneurship. The theoretical propositions range from positing that entrepreneurial opportunities are not exogenously given but rather endogenously and systematically created by investments in new knowledge and ideas, to the importance of geographic proximity between entrepreneurial activity and knowledge sources, the impact of location on entrepreneurial performance, and the new roles for board, managers and modes of finance in entrepreneurial firms accessing and absorbing knowledge spillovers. These propositions are subjected to systematic econometric scrutiny and verification using both aggregate data to analyze the links between entrepreneurship and growth, as well as firm-level data to analyze the impact of knowledge spillover on entrepreneurial location, performance, boards, managers and mode of finance. The resulting empirical evidence supports the knowledge spillover of entrepreneurship not only by linking entrepreneurship to economic growth and performance, but also by identifying how the organization and strategy of entrepreneurial firms are influenced by the need to access, absorb and commercialize external knowledge spillovers. The book concludes that the new millennium may not be so much about the process of Joseph Schumpeter's creative destruction, where entrepreneurial startups displace and ultimately drive incumbent company's out of business, but rather characterized by creative construction. Globalization and its concomitant outsourcing and offshoring is the source of the "destruction", especially in terms of lower skilled jobs. By contrast, in the 21st century global economy, entrepreneurship is constructive by commercializing investments in knowledge and ideas that might never have been commercialized but ultimately result in growth, global competitiveness and employment. Thus, the emergence of entrepreneurship policy can be interpreted as the attempt to generate entrepreneurial based economic growth by creating an entrepreneurial economy.

The Importance of Reporting Incentives: Earnings Management in European Private and Public Firms

Abstract: This paper examines how capital market pressures and institutional factors shape firms' incentives to report earnings that reflect economic performance. To isolate the effects of reporting incentives, we exploit the fact that, within the European Union, privately held corporations face the same accounting standards as publicly traded companies because accounting regulation is based on legal form. We focus on the level of earnings management as one dimension of accounting quality that is particularly responsive to firms' reporting incentives. We document that private firms exhibit higher levels of earnings management and that strong legal systems are associated with less earnings management in private and public firms. We also provide evidence that private and public firms respond differentially to institutional factors, such as book‐tax alignment, outside investor protection, and capital market structure. Moreover, legal institutions and capital market forces often appear to reinforce each other.

Mixed biodiversity benefits of agri-environment schemes in five European countries.

Abstract: Agri-environment schemes are an increasingly important tool for the maintenance and restoration of farmland biodiversity in Europe but their ecological effects are poorly known. Scheme design is partly based on non-ecological considerations and poses important restrictions on evaluation studies. We describe a robust approach to evaluate agri-environment schemes and use it to evaluate the biodiversity effects of agri-environment schemes in five European countries. We compared species density of vascular plants, birds, bees, grasshoppers and crickets, and spiders on 202 paired fields, one with an agri-environment scheme, the other conventionally managed. In all countries, agri-environment schemes had marginal to moderately positive effects on biodiversity. However, uncommon species benefited in only two of five countries and species listed in Red Data Books rarely benefited from agri-environment schemes. Scheme objectives may need to differentiate between biodiversity of common species that can be enhanced with relatively simple modifications in farming practices and diversity or abundance of endangered species which require more elaborate conservation measures.

Setting expectations for the ecological condition of streams: the concept of reference condition

Abstract: An important component of the biological assessment of stream condition is an evaluation of the direct or indirect effects of human activities or disturbances. The concept of a ''reference condition'' is increasingly used to describe the standard or benchmark against which current condition is compared. Many individual nations, and the European Union as a whole, have codified the concept of reference condition in legislation aimed at protecting and improving the ecological condition of streams. However, the phrase ''reference condition'' has many meanings in a variety of contexts. One of the primary purposes of this paper is to bring some consistency to the use of the term. We argue the need for a ''reference condition'' term that is reserved for referring to the ''naturalness'' of the biota (structure and function) and that naturalness implies the absence of significant human disturbance or alteration. To avoid the confusion that arises when alternative definitions of reference condition are used, we propose that the original concept of reference condition be preserved in this modified form of the term: ''reference condition for biological integrity,'' or RC(BI). We further urge that these specific terms be used to refer to the concepts and methods used in individual bioassessments to characterize the expected condition to which current conditions are compared: ''minimally disturbed condition'' (MDC); ''historical condition'' (HC); ''least disturbed condition'' (LDC); and ''best attainable condition'' (BAC). We argue that each of these concepts can be narrowly defined, and each implies specific methods for estimating expectations. We also describe current methods by which these expectations are estimated including: the reference-site approach (condition at minimally or least-disturbed sites); best professional judgment; interpretation of historical condition; extrapolation of empirical models; and evaluation of ambient distributions. Because different assumptions about what constitutes reference condition will have important effects on the final classification of streams into condition classes, we urge that bioassessments be consistent in describing the definitions and methods used to set expectations.

Paradigm shift in neuroprotection by NMDA receptor blockade: Memantine and beyond

Abstract: Excessive glutamate receptor activity, principally of theN-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype, contributes to neuronal damage in a large number of neurologic disorders, including dementia. Until recently, however, NMDA receptor antagonists had all failed in clinical trials. Stuart Lipton reviews the mechanism of action that led to the clinical approval of the first NMDA receptor antagonist, memantine, which has become the newest and one of the best-selling drugs for Alzheimer's disease. Neuroprotective drugs tested in clinical trials, particularly those that block N-methyl-D-aspartate-sensitive glutamate receptors (NMDARs), have failed miserably in large part because of intolerable side effects. However, one such drug, memantine, was recently approved by the European Union and the US FDA for the treatment of dementia following our group's discovery of its clinically tolerated mechanism of action. Here, we review the molecular basis for memantine efficacy in neurological diseases that are mediated, at least in part, by overactivation of NMDARs, producing excessive Ca2+ influx through the receptor's associated ion channel and consequent free-radical formation.

Sleep apnoea as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease: current evidence, basic mechanisms and research priorities

Abstract: Considerable evidence is available in support of an independent association between obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and cardiovascular disease, which is particularly strong for systemic arterial hypertension and growing for ischaemic heart disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and cardiac sudden death. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in OSAS is not completely understood but likely to be multifactorial, involving a diverse range of mechanisms including sympathetic nervous system overactivity, selective activation of inflammatory molecular pathways, endothelial dysfunction, abnormal coagulation and metabolic dysregulation, the latter particularly involving insulin resistance and disordered lipid metabolism. The present report, which arose out of a European Union Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST) action on OSAS (COST B26), reviews the current evidence for an independent association and proposes research priorities to identify the underlying mechanisms involved, with a view to identifying novel therapeutic strategies. Large-scale collaborative studies of carefully defined patient populations with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, adequately controlled for potential confounders, are needed. Such studies carry the prospect of evaluating potential interactions between different basic mechanisms operating in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and cardiovascular disease, and interactions with other related disorders, such as obesity, diabetes and dyslipidaemia. Furthermore, translational studies involving cell culture and animal models linked to studies of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients are necessary to integrate basic mechanisms with the clinical disorder.

Delegation and agency in international organizations

Abstract: Part I. Introduction: 1. Delegation under anarchy: states, international organizations, and principal-agent theory Darren G. Hawkins, David A. Lake, Daniel L. Nielson and Michael J. Tierney Part II. Variation in Principal Preferences, Structure, Decision Rules, and Private Benefits: 2. A problem of principals: common agency and social lending at the multilateral development banks Mona Lyne, Daniel L. Nielson and Michael J. Tierney 3. US domestic politics and international monetary fund policy J. Lawrence Broz and Michael Brewster Hawes 4. Why multilateralism? Foreign aid and domestic principal-agent problems Helen V. Milner 5. Distribution, information, and delegation to international organizations: the case of IMF conditionality Lisa L. Martin 6. Delegation and discretion in the European Union Mark A. Pollack Part III. Variation in Agent Preferences, Legitimacy, Tasks, and Permeability: 7. How agents matter Darren G. Hawkins and Wade Jacoby 8. Screening power: international organizations as informative agents Alexander Thompson 9. Dutiful agents, rogue actors, or both? Staffing, voting rules, and slack in the WHO and WTO Andrew P. Cortell and Susan Peterson 10. Delegating IMF conditionality: understanding variations in control and conformity Erica R. Gould 11. Delegation to international courts and the limits of recontracting political power Karen J. Alter Part IV. Directions for Future Research: 12. The logic of delegation to international organizations David A. Lake and Mathew McCubbins.

EAACI/GA(2)LEN/EDF/WAO guideline: definition, classification and diagnosis of urticaria.

Abstract: This guideline is the result of a consensus reached during a panel discussion at the 2nd International Consensus Meeting on Urticaria, Urticaria 2004, a joint initiative of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Dermatology Section and the European Union (EU)-funded network of excellence, GA2LEN. It covers the definition and classification of urticaria, taking into account the recent progress in identifying causes, eliciting factors and pathomechanisms of this disease. We have outlined useful diagnostic approaches for different subtypes of urticaria. This guideline was, in addition, accepted by the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and was formally approved by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

English-medium teaching in European higher education

Abstract: In the global debates on English as international lingua franca or as ‘killer language’, the adoption of English as medium of instruction in Higher Education is raising increasing concern. Plurilingualism and multilingualism are embedded in the official policies of the European Union and Council of Europe, and the Bologna Process for harmonizing Higher Education promises ‘proper provision for linguistic diversity’. But even enthusiasts acknowledge the problems of implementing such policies in the face of an inexorable increase in the use of English. This survey draws on the most recent and sometimes disparate sources in an attempt to paint a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the spread of English-medium teaching in Europe's universities. The article sets the changes in the context of accelerating globalization and marketization, and analyses the forces which are driving the adoption of English, and some of the problems which accelerating ‘Englishization’ of European Higher Education might create.

Economic burden of cardiovascular diseases in the enlarged European Union.

Abstract: Aims Cardiovascular disease (CVD), together with its main components, coronary heart disease (CHD), and cerebrovascular diseases, is the main source of morbidity and mortality in the European Union (EU), but to date, there has not been any systematic cost-of-illness study to assess the economic impact of CVD in the EU. Methods and results CVD-related expenditure was estimated using aggregate data on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare resource use. Healthcare costs were estimated from expenditure on primary, outpatient, emergency, and inpatient care, as well as medications. Costs of unpaid care and lost earnings due to morbidity and premature death were included in the study. CVD was estimated to cost the EU €169 billion annually, with healthcare accounting for 62% of costs. Productivity losses and informal care represented 21% and 17% of costs, respectively. CHD represented 27% and cerebrovascular diseases 20% of overall CVD costs. Conclusion CVD is a leading public health problem. Our study is the first to assess the economic burden of CVD across the EU, and our results should help policy makers evaluate policy impact and prioritize research expenditures. However, because of data unavailability, our study has important limitations, which highlight the need for more accurate and comparable CVD-specific information.

Mapping policy preferences II : estimates for parties, electors, and governments in Eastern Europe, European Union, and OECD 1990-2003

Abstract: PART I: PARTIES AND REPRESENTATION IN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION 1. Uniquely! Over-Time Mapping of Party Policy Movements in Central and Eastern Europe 1990-2003 2. Beyond the Left-Right Dimension: Policy Profiles and Programmatic Coherence of Party Groupings in the European Parliament 3. A Common Space for Electoral Communication? Comparing Party and Voter Placements on a Left-Right Continuum in Western Europe and the CEE PART II: METHODOLOGY AND MEASUREMENT 4. Evaluating Validity with the Standard Left-Right Scale: Matching Measurements to Conceptual Intentions 5. Information or Error? Reliability of Policy Time series 6. Quantifying Policy Emphases in Texts Using the CMP Approach: Comparisons with Alternative Approaches. 7. Exploiting Manifesto Estimates of the Median for Multi-Level Analysis: Relating Electoral, Legislative and Government Policy Preferences 8. Using the Data

The JRC-Acquis: A Multilingual Aligned Parallel Corpus with 20+ Languages

Abstract: We present a new, unique and freely available parallel corpus containing European Union (EU) documents of mostly legal nature. It is available in all 20 official EU languages, with additional documents being available in the languages of the EU candidate countries. The corpus consists of almost 8,000 documents per language, with an average size of nearly 9 million words per language. Pair-wise paragraph alignment information produced by two different aligners (Vanilla and HunAlign) is available for all 190+ language pair combinations. Most texts have been manually classified according to the EUROVOC subject domains so that the collection can also be used to train and test multi-label classification algorithms and keyword-assignment software. The corpus is encoded in XML, according to the Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines. Due to the large number of parallel texts in many languages, the JRC-Acquis is particularly suitable to carry out all types of cross-language research, as well as to test and benchmark text analysis software across different languages (for instance for alignment, sentence splitting and term extraction).

Multiple Inequalities, Intersectionality and the European Union:

Abstract: The European Union (EU), a pioneer in gender equality policies, is moving from predominantly attending to gender inequality, towards policies that address multiple inequalities. This article argues that there are tendencies at EU level to assume an unquestioned similarity of inequalities, to fail to address the structural level and to fuel the political competition between inequalities. Based upon a comparison of specific sets of inequalities (class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender), this article explores where and how structural and political intersectionality might be relevant. It argues that a ‘one size fits all' approach to addressing multiple discrimination is based on an incorrect assumption of sameness or equivalence of the social categories connected to inequalities and of the mechanisms and processes that constitute them. Focusing on similarities ignores the differentiated character and dynamics of inequalities. It also overlooks the political dimension of equality goals. Moreover, it has become clear that attention to structural mechanisms and to the role of the state and the private sphere in reproducing inequalities is much needed. The final part of the article presents constructive ideas for a more comprehensive way of addressing multiple inequalities.

Low Fertility and the State: The Efficacy of Policy

Abstract: Some 30 countries today have fertility rates below 1.5 births per woman. The governments of each of these countries have reported to the United Nations that they consider this rate to be "too low" (United Nations 2004). When fertility is moderately below replacement level the size of subsequent generations falls only slowly and if considered necessary there is an opportunity to supplement the generation size with migration. When fertility remains very low however the generation size falls rapidly and massive migration would be required to offset the decline (United Nations 2000). Hence we can think in terms of a "safety zone" for low fertility. Population dynamics tends to confirm the view of governments that the "safety zone" lies above 1.5 births per woman. (excerpt)

EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF guideline: management of urticaria

Abstract: This guideline is the result of a consensus reached during a panel discussion at the second International Consensus Meeting on Urticara, Urticaria 2004, a joint initiative of the EAACI Dermatology Section and GA2LEN. Urticaria has a profound impact on the quality of life, and effective treatment is therefore required. The recommended first line treatment are nonsedating H1 antihistamines. They have proven to be effective in double-blind controlled studies, but dosages increased up to fourfold over the recommended doses may be necessary. However, for different urticaria subtypes and in view of individual variation in the course of the disease and response to treatment, additional or alternative therapies may be required. Immunosuppressive drugs like cyclosporin A and corticosteroids are not recommended for long-term treatment due to unavoidable severe adverse effects. This guideline was, in addition, accepted by the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and formally approved by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

Economic Benefits of Adopting IFRS or US-GAAP – Have the Expected Cost of Equity Capital Really Decreased?

Abstract: The question of whether the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) results in measurable economic benefits is of special interest, particularly in light of the European Union's adoption of IFRS for listed companies. In this paper, I investigate the common conjecture that internationally recognised financial reporting standards (IAS/IFRS or US-GAAP) reduce the cost of capital for adopting firms. Building on Leuz and Verrecchia (2000), I use a set of German firms that have adopted such standards and investigate the potential economic benefits of this reporting strategy by analysing their cost of equity capital through the use and customisation of available implied estimation methods. Evidence from the 1993–2002 period fails to document lower expected cost of equity capital for firms applying IAS/IFRS or US-GAAP. During the transition period I analyse, the expected cost of equity capital in fact appear to have rather increased under non-local accounting standards.

Environmental Impacts of Products: A Detailed Review of Studies

Abstract: Environmental effects of economic activities are ultimately driven by consumption, via impacts of the production, use, and waste management phases of products and services ultimately consumed. Integrated product policy (IPP) addressing the life-cycle impacts of products forms an innovative new generation of environmental policy. Yet this policy requires insight into the final consumption expenditures and related products that have the greatest life-cycle environmental impacts. This review article brings together the conclusions of 11 studies that analyze the life-cycle impacts of total societal consumption and the relative importance of different final consumption categories. This review addresses in general studies that were included in the project Environmental Impacts of Products (EIPRO) of the European Union (EU), which form the basis of this special issue. Unlike most studies done in the past 25 years on similar topics, the studies reviewed here covered a broad set of environmental impacts beyond just energy use or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The studies differed greatly in basic approach (extrapolating LCA data to impacts of consumption categories versus approaches based on environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) tables), geographical region, disaggregation of final demand, data inventory used, and method of impact assessment. Nevertheless, across all studies a limited number of priorities emerged. The three main priorities, housing, transport, and food, are responsible for 70% of the environmental impacts in most categories, although covering only 55% of the final expenditure in the 25 countries that currently make up the EU. At a more detailed level, priorities are car and most probably air travel within transport, meat and dairy within food, and building structures, heating, and (electrical) energy-using products within housing. Expenditures on clothing, communication, health care, and education are considerably less important. Given the very different approaches followed in each of the sources reviewed, this result hence must be regarded as extremely robust. Recommendations are given to harmonize and improve the methodological approaches of such analyses, for instance, with regard to modeling of imports, inclusion of capital goods, and making an explicit distinction between household and government expenditure. © 2006 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.

The Importance of Reporting Incentives: Earnings Management in European Private and Public Firms

Abstract: This paper examines how capital market pressures and institutional factors shape firms' incentives to report earnings that reflect economic performance. To isolate the effects of reporting incentives, we exploit the fact that, within the European Union, privately held corporations face the same accounting standards as publicly traded companies because accounting regulation is based on legal form. We focus on the level of earnings management as one dimension of accounting quality that is particularly responsive to firms' reporting incentives. We document that private firms exhibit higher levels of earnings management and that strong legal systems are associated with less earnings management in private and public firms. We also provide evidence that private and public firms respond differentially to institutional factors, such as book-tax alignment, outside investor protection and capital market structure. Moreover, legal institutions and capital market forces often appear to reinforce each other.

The Bologna Process and the Lisbon Research Agenda: the European Commission’s expanding role in higher education discourse

Abstract: This article examines the role of the European Union’s Commission in weaving together the Bologna Process and the Lisbon research strategy with its existing educational initiatives to define and disseminate an influential vision of European higher education. The article begins by outlining the Commission’s activities in relation to EU education programmes, the Lisbon research agenda and the Bologna Process. It goes on to examine, in a variety of policy texts, the discourse of European higher education that is supported by, and supporting, these large-scale policy developments. Whilst the overall coherence and cohesiveness of this emerging discourse can be queried, the article argues that the Commission is drawing effectively on both Bologna and Lisbon to firmly constitute — and reconstitute — higher education as a European policy domain. The article concludes with an analysis of how different educational stakeholders are supported and restricted by the Commission’s views of higher education, as articulated through its ‘hybrid’ Bologna/Lisbon agenda.

Europe as Empire: The Nature of the Enlarged European Union

Abstract: Preface Introduction: The Neo-Medieval Paradigm 1. Return to Europe 2. European Power Politics 3. Diversity and Adaptation 4. Economic Governance 5. Democratic Governance 6. Governance Beyond Borders 7. Implications of Neo-Medievalism Bibliography