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While prior studies have examined various factors that affect immigration policymaking across Europe, little attention has been paid to the impact of the gender structure within parliament. It has been found that female parliamentarians are more concerned with the interests of women, children, and other marginalized groups than their male colleagues. Consequently, they are more likely to prioritize the rights of immigrants who represent an important social minority in European settings. Leveraging a panel data set spanning 26 European states from 2007 to 2019, the paper shows that an increase in the share of women parliamentarians is indeed associated with the liberalization of immigration policy. The results remain significant when employing historical female enrollment as an instrumental variable. Notably, the growth of the right-wing parties (including mainstream and radical right parties) in parliament would undercut the positive impact of female parliamentarians. The paper sheds some light on European immigration policymaking and female political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative growth and increased social prominence of financial institutions and markets can be usefully seen in terms of the constraints or 'discipline' they impose on other private and public decision makers. The role of finance in allocating real resources may be less important than its role in supporting the claims and authority of wealth-owners vis-a-vis other social actors. This article discusses the political economy of financialization in the United States, Europe and India. In the United States, the latter role is most visible in the pressure non-financial corporations face to increase payouts to shareholders. In Europe, the financial constraints on national governments are more salient. Tightening these constraints is openly acknowledged as the major benefit of financial integration, yet, on the other hand, the constraints financialization imposes on policy may also limit the extent to which finance can in fact be liberalized. This countervailing pressure is visible in the great expansion of central banks' balance sheets and management of financial markets over the past decade. It is even more clearly visible in India, where the conflict between financialization and concrete policy goals has sharply limited the extent of liberalization, despite consistent rhetorical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the impact of EU liberalization policy tools on the rate of supplier switching in order to assess whether the objective of increased competition in the natural gas sector has been achieved. Three dynamic models are applied to a panel of 22 EU members between 1998 and 2013 to test the efficacy of eleven policy tools including privatization, in bringing competition to the market. Panel econometrics suggests that the liberalization tools implemented positively influence competition, although jointly rather than on a stand-alone basis. The implementation of pro-market regulations is associated with more competition in the sector. Among the various instruments, the virtual trading point, market-based balancing, market opening, and privatization have the greatest competition-enhancing potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effects of capital account liberalization on firm capital allocation and aggregate productivity in 10 Eastern European countries. Using a large firm-level data set, we show that capital account liberalization decreases the dispersion in the return to capital across firms, particularly in sectors more dependent on external finance. We provide evidence that capital account liberalization improves capital allocation by allowing financially constrained firms to demand more capital and produce at a more efficient level. Finally, using a model of misallocation we document that capital account liberalization increases aggregate productivity through more efficient capital allocation by 10% to 16%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National airlines operate in a highly competitive environment. EU airlines face a challenge to compete with low cost carriers, as a result of the liberalization process in the sector. European flag airlines of non- EU member states, not benefiting from liberalization, are forced to compete internationally. This research is focused on national carriers, as they provide the majority of service to and from central and regional airports. Therefore, to establish the most efficient entities on the passenger air transport market, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) methodology, has been utilized. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of 29 chosen national airlines in Europe in the year 2013, using the DEA approach, to pinpoint the subset of fully-efficient market leaders, as well as potential sources of inefficiency, among less effective carriers. The analysis incorporates information on inputs (e.g. fleet, number of employees, number of countries and airports served) and outputs (revenue, annual passengers carried, load factor). The results show that more than 40% (12 of 29) researched airlines are effective and the other 34% are near-efficient. Moreover, outcomes suggest that "going big" may not increase effectiveness. It is harder to achieve full efficiency for big carriers than small ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines cross-national differences in the development of sectoral collective bargaining in the European telecommunications industry following comparable changes in market regulations. The authors seek to explain why centralized, coordinated bargaining institutions were established in Austria and Sweden, both within incumbent telecommunications firms and at the sector level, while Germany and Denmark experienced decentralization and disorganization of bargaining at both levels. The authors argue that these outcomes resulted from differences in institutional loopholes employers were able to exploit to avoid centralized bargaining and past union structures that influenced patterns of interunion cooperation. These two explanatory factors were interrelated: the presence or absence of institutional loopholes affected the basis for cooperation between unions, while labor cooperation was an important power resource unions could draw on to close emerging loopholes. Findings demonstrate the importance of sector-level political dynamics for the construction or erosion of solidaristic bargaining structures under pressure from market liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the changes which are taking place in air transport for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia in the context of liberalisation. It also attempts to identify the common and specific factors that influence these processes in different markets of the region. The indicators for the development of the aviation market were designed using, among other things, statistics describing the infrastructure facilities and the level of activity in the market. Composite indicators and the weights for their individual components were constructed using a Multidimensional Comparative Analysis. The conditions under which changes were taking place in Central and Eastern European Countries were described with the help of selected socio-economic panel data. Finally, One-Way Fixed Effects and Seemingly Unrelated Regressions (SUR) models describing the development of the aviation markets were estimated. The adopted procedure made it possible to identify the most important common and specific factors that exerted the greatest influence on the situation of air transport in CEE Countries. The very initiation of the liberalisation process undoubtedly had a significantly beneficial effect on the development of route networks and aviation activities as broadly understood. However, the pace of change depended not only on the progress of liberalisation itself, but also on the diverse socio-economic conditions in the individual countries. As a result of the analysis, the markets were divided into two separate groups, which in many respects are distinctly different from each other. The results of the estimation models also showed that there are strong unobservable determinants of development which are specific to individual countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union project initially started as a peaceful solution for war reconstruction in Europe. European countries decided to cooperate rather than compete in an aggressive way. At the beginning, this project supposed (involved) market liberalization, trade barriers removals, market access improvement (initially for coal, steel, energy and, later, for all goods, services, workforce and capital). Unfortunately, in the last decades, all these Single Market facilities have been backed by redistributive schemes, protectionist mechanisms, social engineering, subsidies and facilities packed in so-called "EU policies". New "European" institutions have been created, more and more funds have been involved to financially support this very complex redistributive intervention. The political dimension of the European Union project enhanced the economic dimension and constantly suffocated private markets and the economy. The "incomes" of the European Union that fuel its financial support are coming from taxes and/or inflation (better administered after the introduction of a Single Currency - the Euro). This paper will discuss the relevance of European Funds for economic development, especially for new members in this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processes of restructuring of the railway sector and liberalization of the railway market in different South-Eastern European (SEE) countries vary significantly in terms of models and dynamics. As a result, the effects of these processes, as well as competitiveness of railways in the transport market, become reduced. The aim of this paper is to answer the questions of how and by which parameters the process of the market liberalization and restructuring of railways in the SEE region should be managed, i.e. how to harmonize and synchronize this process and increase its effects. The process of restructuring has been considered in four segments: market institutions and legislation related to the railway sector, restructuring of the incumbent, degree of the railway market liberalization and financial arrangements between the state and actors of the railway market. The parameters used to compare and discuss the levels of restructuring and how to manage the harmonization have been defined for all of the mentioned segments. As a response to the need for coordination and dynamic alignment of restructuring processes and market liberalization in a region with an atomized rail network such as the SEE region, it has been proposed that the liberalization of the railway market should be realized in phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bulk of the literature on 'social Europe' has suggested that social policy at the level of the EU remains to be characterized by the interplay of courts and markets. While we do not disagree with this argument, our objective is to shed light on the European Commission's entrepreneurship, an element which appears to be somewhat bereft of scholarly attention. We show how, by displaying social acuity, defining problems and building teams, the Commission has actively promoted a policy agenda focused on liberal market building at the expense of socially minded regulation. This was however only made possible by a new constellation among the Member States after 2004. We substantiate this claim by documenting the activity of the Commission in two crucial policy domains of the post-Lisbon era: the liberalization of service provision, and the impact of the new macro-economic governance on social policy after the financial and debt crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the 2008/2009 crisis brought changes to global accumulation patterns and prompted further work flexibilization, European labor markets are accordingly being re/deregulated as a result of ‘flexicurity’ and are thus moving toward greater employment liberalization. Historically, atypical employment has been extensive in the Greek labor market, which has been characterized by fragmented labor security provisions and weak social welfare. However, since the country’s crisis-ensuing economic downfall, IMF/EU-induced measures have intensified reforms for ‘less rigidity and more employability’. This paper addresses the diverse pre- and post-crisis regional patterns of atypical employment in Greece, with a focus on temporary waged employment. Diversity is traced in regional industrial specialization and restructuring under recession. The industry- and region-specific impact on labor flexibilization trajectories is estimated by a new shift-share analysis method applied to permanent and temporary regional employment data between 2005 and 2011. The identified ongoing devaluation of employment is also addressed from an institutional aspect, centered on flexicurity-responding labor relations reforms. The geography of employment in Greece is becoming more uneven at the regional level as a result of ‘low-road’ flexibilization, considerable labor-market insecurity and different patterns of atypical labor use among different groups of regions. The emerging situation puts in question the validity of labor market liberalization and flexicurity policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of financial liberalization is one of the most exploited topics in the late transitioning countries' financial crises discussions. One thing the literature is seeking is what the role of the limited capital movements is. Particularly, does it send a signal to the possible investors that the country has something to hide that in terms of future macroeconomic policies will lead to financial crisis. Along with the debate of financial liberalization, the question on financial eurozation is also one important issue regarding emerging or transitioning economies. The debate on euroization is more concentrated on the determinants that in the end conclude that one very important incentive for investors to invest in instruments with foreign currency clause is the monetary credibility. The distrust of the ability for one country to maintain the inflation rate and exchange rate at a stable level merges these two issues (financial liberalization and euroization) in one. The first part of the paper presents two models, discussing the factors that affect domestic agents to invest abroad. The second part elaborates those factors on the case of Macedonia. Throughout the signals the deposit euroization is sending the macroeconomic policies which the paper is concluding that if the models are correct than there is no place for fear of large scale capital outflows in case of financial liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article convergence in European countries' legislative rules concerning the use of embryos in research is studied by looking at how such rules have been formulated in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. An answer will be given as to whether these countries' rules concerning the use of embryos in research have converged and if so what direction this convergence has taken, either liberalization or an extension of moral regulation by the state. This analysis shows to some extent that liberalization of the legislative rules concerning the use of embryos in research has taken place in these countries but also exposes how EU research funding policy has slowed it down. Subsequently, attention will be paid to the driving forces behind the liberalization as well as the countering forces it evokes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, electronic communications has been one of the most important areas of policy intervention for the EU. Liberalization and privatization of the telecommunications industry were very important topics of policy debate in the two decades from 1990 to 2010. In these years, the EU developed a sophisticated regulatory framework that aspired to the principle of favoring the entrance of new players in the sector, and characterized by a strong pro-competition flavor. However, more recently the necessity of mobilizing important investments for the creation of new next-generation networks, capable of delivering all the benefits of the digital revolution to European citizens, has cast doubts on the validity of the established framework. This article discusses the solutions adopted during the liberalization process, and summarizes some of the key future challenges to the existing regulatory framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an analysis of the factors explaining the export performance of firms in the defence sector. We focus on the case of Norway, and make use of two complementary methodologies: the first is based on econometric firm-level data analysis for the whole population of defence companies, and the second is based on qualitative case study research on the three most important defence export products (weapon stations, ammunition and electronics). Our empirical results highlight the importance of four major success factors for exporting firms: (1) the participation in offset agreements; (2) the ability to focus on their set of core competencies; (3) their R&D activities and interactions with the public S&T system; and (4) demand opportunities and, relatedly, user-producer interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new European Union Directive (Defence and Security Procurement Directive 2009/81/EC) intends to liberalize the European defence market. This article investigates whether this Directive leads to a more liberalized European defence market and how the defence companies respond to these changes, by carrying out a set of interviews with a selected sample of some of the most important defence contractors in Norway and Sweden. The article points out two main results. (1) The defence companies believe that the liberalization of the European defence market will at best be partial and fear that the new regulations might end up favouring the larger nations (e.g., Germany, the United Kingdom and France) at the expense of the smaller countries (e.g., Norway and Sweden). (2) The companies' scepticism and response to the Directive vary according to the defence industrial policy regime they are part of and their position in the defence industrial value-chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in developed economies has increased substantially in recent years, driven by policy liberalization and structural adjustments in China's economy. Efforts to accurately describe the dimensions of this increase are complicated by problems with official statistics and the complexity of deal structures. This article introduces the major problems of capturing data on global cross-border investment flows and elaborates on the particular difficulties of measuring Chinese outward FDI. It identifies alternative datasets that can help to better capture the scope and patterns of the Chinese overseas investment and uses one of them to describe the growth of Chinese investment in the EU and the US since 2000, highlighting similarities and differences in investment patterns in the world's two biggest economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I argue that the European financial market integration cannot be understood without the European Commission's gradual enforcement of supranational competition law for financial services. The conflict over the liberalization of public banks in Germany demonstrates how the Directorate General for Competition (DG COMP) deepened financial market integration through legal proceedings without the participation of the Council of Ministers. How could DG COMP prevail over the fierce resistance of Germany even though member states never intended for European law to have enough leverage to alter core elements of national financial systems? The article focuses on DG COMP's capacities for strategic action. DG COMP was able to enforce European competition rules for financial services, skilfully combining its legal competences with political strategies. The case illustrates that the regulatory integration of financial services in the EU is much more driven by supranational institutions than assumed by the bulk of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What forms do Islamist moderation take, and which factors underlie each form of moderation? Although a prevalent question in recent years, less is known about the causes and forms of Islamist moderation in a systematic fashion. By building on the findings of Communist moderation literature, we introduce a two-stage framework to explain variation in Islamist party moderation over time and across space: tactical vs. ideological moderation.Tactical moderationrefers to the kind of moderation where radical parties make a decision on whether to accept electoral democracy as a means to achieve ideological goals without compromising their platforms. Structural factors such as political liberalization, international factors and state repression are causes of tactical moderation.Ideological moderationpertains to shifts in a platform from a radical niche to more moderate lines to respond to societal changes (economic liberalization, economic growth, electoral loss and changing voter preferences) to gain greater popular support. Empirically, we analyse the Italian Communist Party and the Party for Justice and Development in Morocco in a comparative perspective. In providing evidence through structured comparisons and field interviews, we hope to advance a more universal, generalizable theory of radical party moderation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The European telecommunications landscape has been transformed over the past 25 years, but spectrum management has remained largely unchanged. The paper seeks to highlight the need for a more flexible approach to spectrum management and, in particular, the role of shared spectrum access.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a research study to examine the value of shared spectrum access, based on a review of the literature, a survey of European national regulatory authorities, and scenario analysis.Findings – The paper highlights trends in wireless data growth and, in particular, the impact of 4G cellular mobile technology over the next five years. With pressure also growing on the licence-exempt bands at 2.4 and 5 GHz, a more flexible approach to spectrum management will be required in future, including light licensing, de-licensing and spectrum sharing.Originality/value – The paper brings together a range of evidence to show how the current approach to spectrum management is no longer able to cope with the social and economic demands for the radio spectrum. It should be of value to policy makers, industry analysts and academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper intends to promote a re-consideration of the most appropriate policy framework for implementing the European Union (EU) digital agenda.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines relevant EU documentation and the related research literature on EU telecommunications reform within a context of economic market theory and policy analysis models.Findings – The liberalization principle driving EU telecommunications reform for the past quarter century has stalled, and may be reversed by the policy framework adopted for implementing the digital agenda. The public sector broadband funding model is likely to be wasteful and ineffective. Other options for implementation should be considered.Originality/value – This paper examines current EU policy shaping the development of broadband networks and the evolution of the digital economy and information society. It highlights the progress and limitations of EU policy as it has evolved as a reference for implementation of current policy objectives. It will be of value to policy makers, industry analysts and players, as well as researchers in academia and other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that telecommunications liberalization in Europe has taken the European telecommunications and internet sectors a breathtaking leap forward. To counter the leveling off of growth and facing the smartphone revolution, new structural changes are now required.Design/methodology/approach – The paper assesses in a concise manner the effect of telecommunications liberalization in Europe based on the 1987 green paper. It demonstrates the enormous dynamics created in the mobile and fixed network sectors and the key role of liberalization to make Europe internet-ready during the 1990s. The paper then proceeds to the analysis of the leveling off of growth during the last few years and discusses required changes to restart dynamics.Findings – The green paper of 1987 successfully defined a framework within which political and legal action in both regulatory and competition fields could develop, leading to full liberalization of telecommunications in the European Union by 1998. The subsequent decade saw an enormous expansion of both mobile and fixed services, which only abated by the end of the decade. Liberalization and coordination of licensing of mobile systems were the basis for the entry of the internet in Europe and the explosive growth of GSM mobile services. The paper finds that the deployment of broadband internet and fourth generation mobile now needs further change to relaunch dynamics. It welcomes the goals of the digital agenda for Europe in the context of the 2020 objectives of the European Union, but argues that deeper structural changes are needed to achieve these goals.Originality/value – Liberalization of European telecommunications was guided by a strategic framework set out in the 1987 telecommunications green paper and developed subsequently further. Comprehensive frameworks of this nature will be needed if Europe wants to gain a leading role in the future smart phone and broadband internet markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction to the telecommunication reform process in Europe, its status, and upcoming policy issues. Furthermore, it also aims to provide an overview of the papers in this special issue.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an introduction to the telecom reform process based on previous research and the papers in this issue of info.Findings – The introduction argues that the European telecommunication reform process with the telecommunications green paper of 1987 as an important point of departure has been a success in many ways. It has, for example, facilitated the development of mobile, of the internet and its many applications, and considerably lowered prices. However, there are important areas where a single European market has not developed. Moreover, new challenges are rising in terms of upcoming reconfigurations of the whole information communications technology (ICT) area requiring new policy and regulatory answers.Originality/value – The paper provides a brief introduction to the European telecommunication reform process, its achievements, present challenges, and the policy responses of the European Union. In addition, an overview of the papers of this issue of info is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a presentation on the liberalization process on the energy markets that started two decades ago and takes place across Europe in the attempt to create a single European energy market. Several benefits are expected following the deregulation process such as higher competition, market transparency, lower prices, increased efficiency and product development in the clients favour. Three very different energy markets are analyzed before and after the liberalization process -UK, Germany and France -a short insight on the current Romanian energy market is also offered. The aim of this paper is to provide a better understanding on liberalizing European energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse the impact of financial liberalization and reforms on the banking performance in 17 countries from CEE for the period 2004–2008 using a two-stage empirical model that involves estimating bank performance in the first stage and assessing its determinants in the second one. From our analysis it results that banks from CEE countries with higher level of liberalization and openness are able to increase cost efficiency and eventually to offer cheaper services to clients. Banks from non-member EU countries are less cost efficient but experienced much higher total productivity growth level, and large sized banks are much more cost efficient than medium and small banks, while small sized banks show the highest growth in terms of productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform of European railroads is a time-consuming process strongly characterized by its path-dependency. First, a short outline of the historical roots of the controversial debates on the role of the state and the markets, and the organization of competition in European railroad industries is provided. Second, the opening of the market for train services in the context of the liberalization of European transport markets since 1985 is characterized and the regulatory preconditions for competition on the tracks are presented. Third, the evolution of track access regulation in Europe during the last decades is analyzed, differentiating between the period of negotiated third-party access after 1991, the introduction of ex ante regulation by the first railroad infrastructure package in 2001, and the danger of over-regulation posed by the recent Draft Directive of July 2012, establishing a single European railway area. Fourth, the role of competition on the markets for rail services and the reform process of interoperability requirements are considered. Finally, competition on the markets for rail services and public subsidies for rail infrastructures as well as subsidies for train services are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We empirically investigate the nature and outcomes of the liberalization process in European telecommunications. First, we show that decisions to liberalize a country's telecommunications sector have followed a path-dependent and cumulative pace. Moreover, we investigate the extent to which path dependency might have forced liberalizations, regardless of the creation of complementary institutions governing pro-market outcomes. We find that the impact of liberalizations on competition is strongly enhanced by the establishment of complementary institutions, such as the national regulatory authority. Our findings contribute to the existing literature by outlining the role played by path dependency and institutional complementarities in the process of European liberalization. Our conclusions may provide useful lessons for the optimal policy design of pro-market policies in those European network industries that still wait for substantial liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Mediterranean region was a central geo-political and cultural space of Ancient Europe, its cultural imprint reaching up to the present. Yet, throughout history, and especially at the time of industrialisation, the European 'centre' moved steadily northwards, whilst the south gradually became 'peripheral'. For that reason, the north has exerted a certain centripetal effect upon the south, which has in turn led to the gradual blurring of some of the ancestral links with the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. Yet, democratic transitions (in the literature characterised by a succession of stages - from liberalisation to transition and consolidation), which had occurred in Europe in some cases quite recently, seem now to be emerging around the whole Mediterranean Sea. In general, they are the result of an intricate mixture of typified endogenous and exogenous factors, thus allowing not only for case study research but also for comparative approaches. Mechanisms of diffusion across regional spaces have emerged before in other cases and under common circumstances, resulting in the dissemination of patterns across state borders. Such an effect can also be hypothesised for the Mediterranean region, notably for the potential attraction exerted by the northern border upon the southern border. Departing from a comparative approach that relies upon indicators available in the literature and data from international observers, the paper addresses contemporary démocratisation processes in the Mediterranean region, seeking to identify similarities, differences and eventually dissemination mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since financial liberalization in the 1980s, non-profit maximizing, stakeholderoriented banks have outperformed private banks in Europe. This article draws on empirical research, banking theory and theories of the firm to explain this apparent anomaly for neo-liberal policy and contemporary market-based banking theory. The realization of competitive advantages by alternative banks (savings banks, cooperative banks and development banks) has significant implications for conceptions of bank change, regulation and political economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Delicate and difficult at the same time, financial and monetary fields have always attracted attention of researchers worldwide. One of the challenges of contemporary capitalism, financial liberalization, is a process that can bring enormous benefit, but it can pose serious obstacles to development and economic prosperity. In this paper, we propose to analyze the impact of liberalization on bankin g system from emerging countries. The necessity to study and knowledge both the process itself and its effects on financial markets came as a result of a small number of studies and the inconclusive results regarding the impact of financial liberalization on developing countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Than rejected, financial liberalization must be accompanied by an increase in prudential policy. Too rapid liberalization in a country does not mean speed problems in an absolute sense, but in a relative sense: in many cases instability occurred because of the difference between impressive speeds of financial liberalization and very slow adjustment of the prudential provisions, banking and financial regulations, respectively monetary policy actions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper aims to disseminate how liberalisation processes were conducted around the globe and especially in Europe since the XIXth century up to date. The research objective is to review the liberalisation of trade dynamics and create an image of the architecture of the most important trading blocs. Analysis will be conducted considering the three major regional blocs: Europe, North America and East Asia. The main findings will show that, despite the few mutations that occurred in international trade as a result of the emergence of developing nations as major trade partners, the European Union and the United States remain the economic and trade hegemons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a research into railway regulation and liberalisation in Italy, France, Germany and Spain. The analysis covers the relationship between the State and the rail companies, network access conditions by operators, slot allocating and pricing schemes and how public service obligations are defined, financed and regulated. The aim of the paper is to give a comparative overview of the regulation of railways. The regulatory frameworks are described and then assessed according to their implications on the degree of liberalisation and on their actual market opening. The conclusions are that the actual level of market opening is still limited and, only in some cases, is the liberalisation improving. Entry in the industry has not yet developed its full potential. An issue emerging in this research is the opposing attitude of incumbent railways against liberalisation and the role of governments in backing this behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Academic thinking on foreign direct investment has evolved over the years. This paper reviews this evolution for its usefulness in understanding EU-Chinese investment relations today. It then explores the idea of a new dynamic policy regime as a more appropriate means to address the complex issues of investment liberalisation rather than the traditional trade liberalisation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]