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This article analyzes the results of public management reform in Italy, focusing on its managerial significance in the field of cultural heritage. The primary aim is to overcome the general lack of studies analyzing the impact of managerial reforms in governments with aRechtsstaattradition and to understand if, besides the political and institutional context characterized by a highly legalistic system, there are other important factors that might affect results of reforms. Through an in-depth analysis of the reform of the Italian ministry and a comparison with the French museum sector, the paper demonstrates that the way in which the process of change is managed significantly affects the results of reform. Specifically, the author affirms that, in order to obtain good reform results, a greater active involvement of senior bureaucrats in the process of designing reforms is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent studies on immigrant families have demonstrated how the migration status of parents influences their process of family reunification. In the current context of restrictions on family-related migrations in many receiving countries, concretising their family reunification projects often appears challenging to migrant parents and their children. Aiming to shed light on the way migrant families cope with these restrictions depending on their migration status, this article examines the family reunification process of first-generation Filipino migrants in France with their ‘1.5-generation’ offspring. Fieldwork data show that even when irregular migrant parents succeed in regularising their situation, family reunion remains difficult to them due to the complex French immigration policies. As a result, many Filipino immigrants, regardless of their migration status, turn to ‘black market’ channels to reunite with their children. Their family reunification process does not end with the reunion itself but continues to unfold for many years afterwards, as parents and children progressively come to terms with living together after a long separation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the context of global competition for human talent, two policy shifts in favour of the promotion of high-skilled immigration (HSI) were observed in the UK and France during the 2000s. In light of similar policy inputs, this article compares the development and implementation of the British Highly Skilled Immigration Programme between 2002 and 2008 and the French Carte de Competences et Talents (Card of Competences and Talents) from 2006 to 2009. This research explores whether there was an overall convergence across these two European countries' policies towards HSI and if they have conformed to a similar client politics model. Whereas this politics model was identified in the UK, a policy gap was observed in France. This article relates the identified divergences with the political agency of the British and French policymakers, while the conclusions argue that politics trumped policy in the two selected cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the effects of the politics of seasonal foreign worker admissions on migrant legality in the context of the post-1945 and the post-1990 seasonal foreign worker policy in Switzerland, France and Spain respectively. It seeks historical evidence attesting to the ability of seasonal admissions to restrict workers to their non-resident status. It presents implications for circular migration, the dernier cri in European migration policy aimed to strike a compromise between a perceived post-crisis demand for the admission of foreign workers and the reluctance to make them prospective citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the way urban goods movements are included in transport policies aimed at improving air quality in large European cities, particularly in France. The movement of goods in cities is a major contributor to local emissions caused by mobile sources. Trucks emit many pollutants (notably NOx and particulate matter) because they mostly use diesel and because there is a high proportion of old trucks and vans circulating in cities. As a result of this research, it seems that there are few policy innovations in freight issues in cities. Even more surprising is, in France, the low level of legal disputes over air quality standards attainment issues. Nonetheless, responding to public opinion's increasing concern over health issues and to European standards for urban air quality, some European cities have started to reserve access to city centres to new, `clean' or `fully loaded' trucks. By doing so, they have engaged in a more environmentally oriented urban freight strategy. The main conclusion of this article is that this new type of environmental regulation targeted on trucks is the best way available for cities wishing to improve their environment and air quality. Considering the current structure of the freight industry, other policy instruments such as negotiated agreements with freight professionals cannot be very useful except in a limited number of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most French political leaders of the centre-left and centre-right had rather ambivalent attitudes towards the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) project. On the one hand, EMU was seen as desirable to share monetary policy power with the Germans. On the other hand, the institutional design of EMU was considered highly problematic, notably independent central banks and the lack of an 'economic government' at the EU level to dialogue with the European Central Bank and to counter balance the bank's emphasis on sound money. The constraints imposed upon national policy-making were also considered excessive. Despite this flouting of the EMU rules, French governments have continued their active push to construct 'Economic Government', which has involved managing the 'hard' coordination of fiscal policy but also reinforcing the 'soft' coordination on employment and macro-economic policies through the Luxembourg, Cardiff and Cologne processes and the Lisbon strategy. However, there is already considerable pressure on France and Germany coming from the Commission and the smaller more virtuous euro area countries, like Finland and Austria. The Swedish 'No' vote simply contributes to this pressure.

Reports on the dispute in the World Trade Organization between European communities and Canada over a French ban on the import of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in 1996. Background on the dispute; Analysis of a French decree that bans toxic products; Relevance of asbestos toxicity to the discussion on international trade.