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Il est bien établi en droit international que le bien des étrangers ne peut être saisi, même à des fins publiques, sans une indemnisation appropriée. Il y a une vingtaine d’années, les différends portés devant les tribunaux et les analyses menées dans les publications universitaires concernaient principalement le niveau d’indemnisation et l’évaluation des biens expropriés. Les divergences de vues entre les pays développés et les pays en développement soulevaient des questions concernant la formation et l’évolution du droit coutumier. Aujourd’hui, l’attitude plus positive des pays à l’égard de l’investissement étranger, observée dans le monde entier, et la prolifération de traités bilatéraux et d’autres accords relatifs à l’investissement exigeant une indemnisation prompte, adéquate et effective de l’expropriation d’investissements étrangers, ont en grande partie ôté toute signification pratique à ce débat pour les investisseurs étrangers.
Les différends ne portent plus sur ...
This paper presents an overview of the socio-economic situation of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI), primarily in OECD countries. After investigating the size of this population, the paper zooms in on attitudes toward LGBTI, LGBTI rights and perceived discrimination among LGBTI. It goes on to discuss the empirical strategies used to identify whether LGBTI fare worse than non-LGBTI and provides a systematic review of survey-based and experimental evidence on such an “LGBTI penalty” and its causes. This exploration points to substantial hurdles for LGBTI. In particular, (i) low legal recognition of same-sex couples hampers partnership stability and children’s well-being; (ii) LGBTI are bullied at school and suffer academically; (iii) LGBTI face hiring and wage discrimination; (iv) LGBTI show higher rates of physical and mental health problems, in particular due to social rejection. The paper concludes by reviewing anti-discrimination policies and defining critical avenues for future research.
Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) define the maximum temperature and degree of oxidation in order to avoid excessive embrittlement and hence failure of the fuel cladding, which would affect core cooling in the case of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The criteria are mainly based on experimental data obtained in the 1970s-80s. Several types of tests have been performed to evaluate structural integrity and embrittlement of the cladding under LOCA conditions, and consequently different test methodologies have been used for determining the cladding embrittlement criteria. The current trend towards high burn-up and the use of new cladding alloys has increased the need for international discussions on these test methodologies and acceptance criteria. In response, the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and its Working Group on Fuel Safety produced this technical opinion paper, which should be of particular interest to nuclear safety regulators, nuclear power plant operators and fuel researchers.
Circular Economy Labels and Information Schemes (CELIS) compose the group of labels, certifications, standards of information schemes that fully or partially address one or more resource efficiency or circular economy elements. CELIS can play an important role in fostering circular economy activities. They can empower market actors to distinguish and discriminate products based on environmental performance, which stimulates market development and innovation in resource efficient products and services. Information systems also enable better supply chain management and allow firms to identify environmental impacts and risks in their supply chains.
This paper provides an overview of the current CELIS landscape, assesses the drivers and barriers to a greater uptake of business-to-business information systems, and identifies circular economy aspects that are underdeveloped in the existing consumer labels landscape.
This paper examines the determinants of female labour force participation in OECD countries. The econometric analysis uses a panel data set covering 17 OECD countries over the period 1985-1999, and distinguishes between part-time and full-time female participation rates. It shows a positive impact on female participation of a more neutral tax treatment of second earners (relative to single individuals), childcare subsidies, and paid maternity and parental leave. On the other hand, child benefits reduce female participation due to an income effect and their lump-sum character. Female education, the general labour market conditions, and cultural attitudes remain major determinants of female participation. Simulations illustrate the potentially significant impact that some of the examined policies could exert on female participation ...
In recent years, as China’s reform of state–owned enterprises (SOEs) has gathered momentum, the number of workers made redundant has been rising. Until now, the dismissals have affected only a fraction of the “surplus labour”, which has been estimated at 20–25 per cent of total industrial employment in SOEs. If concerns for social stability have so far dictated a gradual approach to SOE restructuring, the heavy fiscal and financial burden of loss–making SOEs has forced an acceleration of the process. Thus, far more sizeable layoffs from state enterprises could be expected in coming years.
The growth of the non–state sector has opened new job opportunities for some SOE laid–off workers. By easing the re–employment of redundant workers, a further development of the non–state sector is an important condition for a smooth restructuring of the state sector. Measures to promote further development of the non–state sector include removing remaining discrimination against the private ...
State-owned enterprise (SOE) restructuring has proceeded more rapidly in Viet Nam than, for example, in China and India. The government tightened the budget constraints facing SOEs virtually simultaneously with price liberalisation. While a large number of mostly small SOEs were liquidated soon after reform began, others were able to adjust through various cost-cutting measures, including sizeable labour force reductions. The government put in place a safety net composed of severance pay and early retirement schemes that, combined with natural attrition, yielded a reduction in the SOE workforce of almost one million people in less than a decade. While the largely voluntary nature of the schemes may have caused some adverse selection and made them more costly than necessary, the benefit has been to avoid social discontent. High private-sector employment growth has been a major contributor to the programme’s success.
Still, the process is not complete. Initial restructuring was ...
The increase in labour disputes in China coincided with the end of the era of surplus labour. While labour was abundant in rural hinterlands, manufacturing firms could rely on cheap labour as migrant workers would still be better off than if they stayed at home. As it became increasingly difficult for manufacturing firms in urban centres and the coastal provinces to recruit labour, wages were bid up throughout the economy. This process however, was all but smooth, as the increase in labour disputes shows. What is needed is a set of labour market institutions that help the transition in labour markets to be not only efficient, but also peaceful and equitable.
This paper by Cai Fan and Wang Meiyan, from the Institute of Population and Labour Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, documents the increase in labour disputes in China and seeks to understand their determinants. The main finding is that the increase in disputes is linked to a change in regime in the labour market with the end of surplus labour. The paper therefore calls for further advances in establishing labour market institutions to adapt to the new labour market situation. The paper finds that disputes result from a better awareness of rights on the part of workers and that they are more common in thriving and export-oriented areas. The authors go on to discuss the Chinese government’s responses to the growing problem, from pro-active labour market policy to increasing the importance of collective contracts. In doing so, this paper provides an important building block in the understanding of the role of labour market institutions for social cohesion.
It finds that extensions of paid leave lengths have a positive, albeit small, influence on female employment rates and on the gender ratio of employment, as long as the total period of paid leave is no longer than approximately two years. Additional weeks of leave, however, exert a negative effect on female employment and the gender employment gap. This paper also finds that weeks of paid leave positively affect the average number of hours worked by women relative to men, though on condition – once again – that the total duration of leave does not exceed certain limits. By contrast, the provision of paid leave widens the earnings gender gap among full-time employees.
In this paper we present comparative evidence from OECD countries concerning the impact of product and labour market regulations on innovation. While product and labour market policies usually aim at objectives other than innovation, they may have important consequences for the profitability of firms’ innovative strategies. Our regression analysis provides some cross-country evidence that enhancing competition in the product market -- while guaranteeing intellectual property rights -- seems to have a positive impact on the innovation performance of a country. Conversely, the relationship between innovation and job protection does not seem to be univocal. The sign and magnitude of the effect of the latter crucially depends on the systems of industrial relations and the specific characteristics of each industry. Indeed, the larger the scope for resorting to internal labour markets, the lower the adjustment costs imposed by labour market regulation. Moreover, in industries with a ...
This paper explores the effects of offshoring, technology and Chinese import competition on labor market polarization in European countries. We find that polarization occurs mostly as a result of polarization within individual industries, while the reallocation of employment away from less polarized industries towards more highly polarized industries also contributed to a lesser extent. In manufacturing, within-industry polarization is mostly associated with technological change, but we also find some tentative evidence that Chinese import competition contributed as well. In other private industries outside of manufacturing, technological change and offshoring are the most relevant forces affecting within-industry polarization. The process of between-industry polarization is driven by widespread deindustrialization in developed countries. We find that Chinese import competition contributed to the decline of employment in the less polarized manufacturing industries. Differences in labor market institutions only explain a limited amount of cross-country variation in the association of polarization and the three forces we consider.