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Achieving sustainable development is an important goal for China's economic transformation to high-quality development. Using the city-year panel data and constructing a green total factor productivity (GTFP) indicator, we implement the idea of an "event study" to explore the impact of official turnover on sustainable development in China. The results, supported by a series of robustness tests, show that official turnover significantly contributes to sustainable development. Furthermore, official turnover mainly promotes sustainable development through the deterrent effect and reducing government construction investment; the turnover of highly educated, local, promoted, and experienced officials could better promote sustainable development. These findings shed new light on the determinants of sustainable development and suggest that local official turnover plays an important role in China's high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the EU Merger Control Regulation (EUMR) are complementary tools that could apply concurrently to mergers involving gatekeepers. Yet, potential tensions between the DMA and the EUMR have been unexplored. It is this paper's objective to shed light on the interplay between the EUMR and the DMA, in the context of commitments design for gatekeeper acquisitions. This paper argues that the DMA could influence the EUMR in designing remedies, since these tools may be taking a similar approach to addressing the harmful effects of gatekeepers’ practices. Accordingly, the new DMA obligations could impact future commitments design under the EUMR in two ways. First, at the theory of harm stage, because of the DMA's deterrent effect. Second, at the remedy design stage, because of the principle of proportionality. Therefore, the DMA could restrict the EUMR's power to design merger commitments, in the context of gatekeeper acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Drivers with a previous DUI experience are more likely to refuse a breath test when caught. • A higher degree of probability to refuse a breath test occurs when the penalty of test refusal rises. • Drivers refusing a breath test are more likely to violate DUI rules than heavy drinking drivers. • Refusers are more likely to cause incidents than drunk drivers who comply with the breath test. • The mild punishment of breath test refusal may lead to more DUI cases and incidents among refusers. Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is a major concern of road safety, as it not only leads to many people killed and injured, but also induces a significant loss of labor productivities. Taiwan is no exception to this problem, because drunk driving is one of the primary causes of severe traffic crashes nationwide. To prevent DUI, the authorities have revised laws many times to increase the penalties for drunk driving, including revocation or suspension of license, greater fines, detaining vehicles, and lengthening incarceration times. However, under the current system, suspected drivers are only subject to an administrative punishment if they refuse the request of a sobriety test. By doing so, heavy drinkers could avoid a possible criminal accusation of drunk driving, a potential incarceration penalty, and a lifetime criminal record. This research investigates the opportunistic behavior of drunk drivers against DUI policies in Taiwan. First, we find that drivers with a previous DUI experience are more likely to refuse a breath test when caught. Second, the degree of probability to refuse a breath test increases as the punishment to drivers failing a breath test rises, while it drops as the punishment to refusers increases. Third, breath test refusers have a greater likelihood to be caught again for DUI violations in one year than heavy drinking drivers with a BrAC (breath alcohol concentration) level of 0.55 mg/L. Fourth, breath test refusers are somewhat more likely to cause a DUI incident in two years than drunk drivers who comply with the request to carry out a breath test. These findings suggest that the allowance of breath test refusal with a mild administrative punishment may be a loophole that limits the deterrent effect and consequently leads to more drunk driving cases and incidents among refusers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant literature demonstrates that whistleblowing is associated with changes in the whistleblowing target's financial reporting. This paper provides compelling evidence that whistleblowing also affects peer firms' financial reporting. Specifically, we find that industry peers reduce their financial reporting aggressiveness following a whistleblowing allegation. This peer deterrent effect is stronger when the peer firm is geographically closer to the whistleblowing target, when the peer and whistleblowing target share a board member, when the peer is predicted to have a high probability of misstatement, and when the whistleblowing target is larger. Our findings are robust to an array of estimation methods, industry peer definitions, examining windows, and a placebo test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the issue of the legal individualisation of criminal punishments for drug trafficking offences provided for in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova. The rationale of the scientific approach lies in the need for a perpetual harmonisation of criminal legislation to the new trends of manifestation of drug trafficking, in order to make the applicable deterrent arsenal more efficient in relation to the various practical situations of committing these crimes. The aim is to re-evaluate the legal criteria for the individualisation of criminal punishments for drug trafficking offences and to assess the degree to which these criteria correspond to the deterrent purpose of the criminal punishments applicable to drug traffickers. Some solutions for a reference law on the harmonization of the punitive regime established for drug trafficking offences in strict accordance with their seriousness were substantiated. Based on the national specificity existing in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova (Republic of Moldova Criminal Code, 2002), it was proposed to create a separate incriminatory framework for trafficking in narcotic substances with narcotic effect, which are new generation drugs not provided for by the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (United Nations, 1961) and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The ineffectiveness of the quantitative criterion for individualising penalties for trafficking in ethnobotanicals, represented by their quantitative proportions, has also been demonstrated. In this context, the idea of individualisation of criminal punishments for trafficking in ethnobotanicals based on qualitative criteria, which are represented by the risks that these substances pose to the health of consumers, was promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the detrimental consequences of incentives for parties involved in theft, focusing on the context of Indonesian local wisdom. While incentives are commonly employed to motivate specific behaviors, this study sheds light on how they can exacerbate the adverse impacts of theft in the Indonesian cultural context. This study used qualitative research methods, including interviews and ethnographic observations, to investigate how material or immaterial incentives contribute to the perpetuation of theft and its negative repercussions within the framework of Indonesian local wisdom. The findings reveal that in some cases, incentives fail to deter theft and encourage the continuation of this illicit activity, thus undermining the principles of communal harmony and traditional values in Indonesian society. This research calls for reevaluating incentive-based strategies and reintegrating local wisdom to address these issues in Indonesia.

From an analysis of the most recent case law of the CJEU, it becomes clear that it has taken a troublesome position on the interpretation of the Directive on Unfair Contract Terms (UCTD) and this could result in significant repercussions in terms of effective protection afforded to consumers and difficulties imposed on traders. More specifically, the CJEU's main interpretive difficulties have focused on Article 6 of the UCTD and namely on the question of whether the non-binding nature of unfair terms implies the preclusion of contract revision and whether the UCTD legitimises rules that primarily serve to sanction sellers and suppliers rather than to ensure a rebalancing based on the principle of contract equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The death penalty was long practised in South Africa as one of the sentence options for capital crimes such as murder, rape, treason, terrorism, and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Its practice has a matching effort for its abolishment or restricted application. Reflecting on some specific historical periods of the practice of the death penalty in South Africa, the author sought to contextualise the article, namely to understand the socio-political experience and perception of the death penalty in order to gauge its current relevance. The goal of the study on which this article reports was to determine whether the death penalty had a deterrent effect on capital crimes in South Africa during the pre-1996 constitutional period. In order to achieve the goal of the deterrence of serious crimes by the death sentence in South Africa, the author discusses legislation, case law, execution patterns and deterrence literature in its context.

The past decade has witnessed an escalation of using criminal enforcement to enhance environmental compliance in China. The purpose of this study is to examine the deterrent effects of criminal enforcement on environmental crimes. To this end, we explore a unique environmental supervision and compliance dataset of Chinese facilities. Our empirical analysis shows that criminal enforcement significantly enhances firms' environmental performance. The preferred specifications suggest that presence of criminal charges in a city is associated with a 12% reduction in the number of environmental violations. This result is robust to different specifications and alternative measures. Our findings further show that the deterrent effect is more pronounced in inland cities and those "non-key" environmental protection cities. It suggests that criminal enforcement has significant complementary effects in enhancing compliance in areas where administrative enforcement is insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reverse the trend of ecological environment deterioration, the government tries to stimulate firms to participate in environmental governance through environmental regulation. Then, which environmental regulation tools can better drive firms to carry out environmental governance activities needs to be corroborated by empirical studies. Using a sample consisting of Chinese A-shares listed firms from 2015 to 2019, this article investigated the effects of two heterogeneous environmental regulation tools (environmental penalties and environmental subsidies) and their interactions on corporate environmental investment. The results showed that environmental penalties have a positive impact on corporate environmental investment. Furthermore, the heavier the penalty or the higher the administrative level of the penalty subject, the more pronounced is the impact of environmental penalties on corporate environmental investment. Firms that receive environmental subsidies do not increase their investment in environmental governance. A series of robustness tests further verify that penalties have a greater impact on the environment than subsidies. In addition, it is found that environmental penalties have an environmental deterrent effect on other firms in the same industry. Our work presents evidence for the economic consequences of environmental regulation and supplements the mechanism of environmental regulation affecting corporate environmental governance. Meanwhile, this article also provides essential guidance for the positive role of environmental penalties in driving corporate environmental governance and has important practical significance for emerging market countries to choose appropriate environmental regulation tools to promote corporate green development.

• Data extraction and analyses on DUI are from documents of adjudication decisions. • A positive association is revealed between crash involvement and BAC level. • BAC level plays a dominant role in criminally DUI sentencing. • Motorcycle DUI offenders are more likely to be crash-involved and sustain injuries. • Motorcycle DUI offenders are more likely to receive lesser punishment. Introduction: Driving under the influence (DUI) increases the probability of motor-vehicle collisions, especially for motorcycles with less protections. This study aimed to identify commonalities and differences between criminally DUI offenses (i.e., with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 80 mg/dL or higher) committed by motorcyclists and car drivers. Methods: A total of 10,457 motorcycle DUIs and 8,402 car DUIs were compared using a series of logistic regression models, using data extracted from the documents of adjudication decisions by the courts of Jiangsu, China. Results: The results revealed that offenders from the high-BAC group (i.e., 200 mg/dL or higher) accounted for more than 20% of the total DUI offenses, and were more likely to be involved in a crash and punished with a longer detention. Motorcyclists had a higher likelihood of crash involvement, and were also more likely to be responsible for single-vehicle crashes associated with higher odds of injury sustained, compared to alcohol-impaired car drivers. In the verdict, motorcycle offenders were more likely to receive a less severe penalty. Conclusions: Interventions are clearly required to focus on reducing in the high-BAC group of offenders. For alcohol-impaired motorcyclists, their risks of crash and injury against BAC climb more steeply than the risks for car drivers. The factors including frequent occurrences, uncertainty of detection, and short-term sentences may weaken the deterrence effect of the criminalization of motorcycle DUI. Practical Applications: The traffic-related adjudication data support traffic safety analysis. Strategies such as combating motorcycle violations (e.g., unlicensed operators or driving unsafe vehicles), undertaking education and awareness campaigns, are expected for DUI prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) detected on January 30, 2020, in the State of Kerala, and the government switched to alert mode. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases discerned an increase, the government clamped Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 on March 11, 2020, by mandating the norm of social distancing and the voluntary public curfew in the country. The nation-wide Lockdowns-I (March 25, 2020, to April 14 2020), II (April 15, 2020, to May 3 2020), and III (May 4, 2020, to May 17, 2020) justified on the ground of Sections 6, 10, 38 and 72 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. During the lockdown period, the protection of medical and paramedical forces has been a central concern in controlling novel COVID-19 pandemic in India. Therefore, the State also invoked quarantine disobedience under sections 188, 269, 270, 271 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 on command and control theory but unable to control the riotous situation working against medical care personnel. Realizing this exigency, the President under Article 123 of the Constitution of India, 1950 promulgated the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. To deal with the miscreants effectively, the Ordinance declares 'act of violence' cognizable and non-bailable with high deterrent value. The paper contextualizes the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 in controlling horrendous Epidemic-Pandemic Syndrome of COVID-19 in India in historical and contemporary perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a sample of covered transactions filed with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions targeting American companies based on publicly available news reports and announcements to examine the heterogeneity hypothesis in the CFIUS review process. A comparative analysis of case studies and an empirical analysis of logit regressions are performed. We also explore how CFIUS reviews may have an impact on corporations' future mergers and acquisitions decisions in a panel data model setting. The results show that both unfair treatment in CFIUS review and the deterrent effect of CFIUS interventions have contributed to the recent sharp decline in China's direct investment in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data obtained from a local tax office in China, we examine the determinants of corporate tax audits and the consequences of those audits. We find that the tax authority is more likely to select a firm for an audit when the firm has a lower effective tax rate, a higher book-tax difference, and more income-decreasing discretionary accruals. Applying a difference-in-differences research design, we find that after firms have been audited, they significantly increase their effective tax rates, reduce their book-tax differences, and reduce their income-decreasing discretionary accruals. Our study provides important insights on the determinants of the tax authority's decision on whether to initiate an audit and the impact of tax audits on both tax reporting and financial reporting. JEL Classifications: H26; L51; M41. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work has shown that serious environmental incidents may act as trigger events to produce stronger regulatory enforcement in China. After a major pollution incident, Chinese authorities often impose severe penalties on polluters as a means to prevent future incidents and appease the public. In this paper, we examine how this increased regulatory stringency might affect firms' environmental performance. We select Level I (extremely serious) and Level II (serious) environmental incidents from 2009 to 2019 as trigger events. Using city-level panel data on environmental violations, we find a significant deterrent effect of the incidents on violations: in the period following an incident, the number of violations falls roughly by 8%–11%. The effect is primarily driven by the incidents caused by illegal discharge of toxic pollutants. Other incidents, such as production safety accidents or traffic accidents, do not exert significant effects on environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative methods for controlling insect pests are required because of the hazards of synthetic chemicals to people and the environment. Lectins are proteins that have been reported as insecticidal agents; however, only one study on the effects of these proteins on Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. (maize weevil) has been performed. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of ingestion of artificial diets containing a saline extract from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi leaves (LE) or its lectin (SteLL, S. terebinthifolius leaf lectin) on the survival and nutritional parameters of S. zeamais adults. The in vitro effects of LE and SteLL on the activity of insect digestive enzymes were also investigated. In addition to SteLL, the LE contained hydrolysable tannins (including gallic acid at 0.559 g%) and flavonoids. Ingestion of LE (100, 200, and 250 mg of extract per g of Triticum aestivum L. flour) impaired the survival of the S. zeamais adults, with mortality rates ranging between 94% and 97% after 12 days of incubation. A strong deterrent effect was detected, and the insects lost biomass during the assay. However, more than 60% of the insects in the SteLL (1–5 mg/g) treatments remained alive during the 34 days of the experiment. The lectin did not show a deterrent effect, but the biomass and efficiency in conversion of ingested food decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The LE was able to inhibit in vitro the protease activity of the insect gut, while SteLL inhibited protease activity and stimulated amylase activity. In conclusion, the leaf extract had insecticidal properties against S. zeamais , which may be due to starvation induction in consequence of the deterrent effect and interference with proteolytic enzymes. Although SteLL did not cause the mortality of the insects, it may be useful as an additive or synergistic agent that reduces pest fitness by affecting the food conversion into biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local wisdom of Indigenous Peoples Migou Pa ‘Tulangbawang Lampung, contains a few anomalies. First, a person who violates customary law will be sanctioned in accordance with the level of the rank of cultures. If he is on the level of indigenous higher, the sanctions given to him will be doubled from legal sanctions must be received by people of customary middle class. In accordance, if he comes from the lowest class, he will get legal sanctions only half of the second level. Second, the natures of anomalies were found on the punishment for adultery to be discharged into the jungle. As adultery is considered an act of animal, the adultery are to be gathered with the animals in the forest. Nowadays, this kind of action could be considered not humane or could also be considered a violation of Human Rights (HAM). All this, according to the author, is intended that people of high rank could be more cautious, more aware of, and even obeying the law. In addition, according to the author, the fact that adultery should be thrown into the jungle is intended to provide a deterrent effect. Third, in the case of violation of the law which should eventually be fined, all members of his clique will be liable to pay a fine. It is intended that the family relatives of the click constantly remind each other that the violation of the law could be fatal.  Kearifan lokal Adat Masyarakat Migou Pa’ Tulangbawang Lampung, mengandung beberapa hal anomaly yakni, pertama seseorang yang melakukan pelanggaran hukum adat akan dikenai sanksi sesuai dengan level pangkat adatnya, jika sesorang itu dari level adat yang tinggi maka sanksi hukuman yang diberikan kepadanya akan dua kali lipat dari sanksi hukum yang harus diterima oleh orang yang pangkat adatnya klas  menengah, sebaliknya jika sipelaku itu berasal dari kelas terendah maka sanksi hukumnya hanya separuh dari sanksi hukum orang level kedua. Kedua sifat anomaly itu terdapat pada hukuman bagi pelaku zina yang harus dibuang ke rimba, hanya karena perbuatan zina itu telah dianggap sebagai perbuatan binatang, maka para pelaku zina itu harus dikumpulkan dengan hewan–hewan di hutan, untuk zaman sekarang tindakan semacam ini bisa dianggap tidak manusiawi atau juga bisa dianggap pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM). Semua ini menurut penulis dimaksudkan agar orang–orang berpangkat tinggi itu bisa lebih hati–hati, lebih sadar bahkan taat hukum, kemudian pelaku zina harus dibuang ke rimba raya menurut penulis hal ini dimaksudkan untuk memberi efek jera. Ketiga jika terjadi pelanggaran hukum yang akhirnya harus dikenai sanksi denda maka segenap anggota kliknya yang menanggung kewajiban membayar denda itu, dimaksudkan agar sanak family yang satu klik itu senantiasa saling mengingatkan bahwa pelanggaran hukum itu bisa berakibat fatal.