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172. The Economic Case against Arizona's Immigration Laws
- Author:
- Alex Nowrasteh
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Arizona's immigration laws have hurt its economy. The 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) attempts to force unauthorized immigrants out of the workplace with employee regulations and employer sanctions. The 2010 Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neigh¬borhoods Act (SB 1070) complements LAWA by granting local police new legal tools to enforce Ari¬zona's immigration laws outside of the workplace.
- Topic:
- Political Economy, Labor Issues, Immigration, and Law
- Political Geography:
- United States and Arizona
173. Networked Justice: Judges, the Diffusion of Ideas, and Legal Reform Movements in Mexico
- Author:
- Matthew C. Ingram
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Existing research shows that the ideas of judges matter for judicial behavior both on the bench (decision making) and off the bench (lobbying and mobilization for institutional change). Yet there is little empirical evidence regarding the content and distribution of these ideas and even less evidence and fewer theoretical propositions regarding the manner in which ideas transfer or diffuse among judges. Addressing these empirical and theoretical gaps, I survey judges in the Mexican state of Michoacán and apply techniques of network analysis. The project makes four main contributions: (1) original data on the attitudes of judges regarding prominent institutional and jurisprudential changes shaping the legal landscape in Mexico; (2) egocentric data on network structure for the sampled judges; (3) sociocentric data on network structure at the level of judicial district, state supreme court, and entire state generated by aggregating the egocentric data; and (4) a mixed-methods analysis of the causal relationship between network features and judicial attitudes, drawing on egocentric methods, sociocentric methods, and personal interviews with focal individuals. Complementing literatures on political socialization, policy diffusion, and complex systems, the analysis clarifies our understanding of the role of judicial networks in strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Political Economy, Governance, Law Enforcement, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Mexico
174. Law at two speeds: Legal frameworks regulating foreign investment in the global South
- Author:
- Lorenzo Cotula
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Foreign investment in developing countries' natural resources brings into contact competing interests characterized by an unequal balance of negotiating power -- from multinational enterprises and host governments to people affected by the implementation of investment projects. Economic globalization has been accompanied by extensive developments in national and international norms regulating investment and its impact -- including investment law, natural resource law and human rights law. These norms affect the way the costs, risks and benefits of investments are shared among the multiple parties involved.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Law, Foreign Direct Investment, and Law
175. Much ado about nothing? State-controlled entities and the change in German investment law
- Author:
- Thomas Jost
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The rise of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) -- together state-controlled entities (SCEs) -- has led to concerns that SCEs could threaten national security by following political rather than mere commercial goals with respect to their foreign direct investment (FDI). While developed countries acknowledged that the rise of SCEs should not lead to new barriers to FDI, several have changed their legislation to expand government oversight of FDI flows. In 2009, Germany also tightened its foreign investment regime. What are the first experiences with this change in German investment law?
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Foreign Direct Investment, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
176. The SO2 Allowance Trading System: The Ironic History of a Grand Policy Experiment
- Author:
- Robert N. Stavins and Richard Schmalensee
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Two decades have passed since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 launched a grand experiment in market-based environmental policy: the SO2 cap-and-trade system. That system performed well but created four striking ironies. First, by creating this system to reduce SO2 emissions to curb acid rain, the government did the right thing for the wrong reason. Second, a substantial source of this system's cost-effectiveness was an unanticipated consequence of earlier railroad deregulation. Third, it is ironic that cap-and-trade has come to be demonized by conservative politicians in recent years, since this market-based, cost-effective policy innovation was initially championed and implemented by Republican administrations. Fourth, court decisions and subsequent regulatory responses have led to the collapse of the SO2 market, demonstrating that what the government gives, the government can take away.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Government, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Law
177. Commission v. Gazprom: The antitrust clash of the decade?
- Author:
- Alan Riley
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- It may well be that the Gazprom antitrust case launched by DG Competition on September 4th will turn out to be the landmark antitrust case of this decade, as Microsoft was of the last decade. The argument of this paper is that, for a host of political and economic reasons, this case is likely to be hard fought by both sides to a final prohibition decision and then onwards into the EU courts. In the process, the European gas market and the powers of DG Competition in the energy field are likely to be transformed.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Natural Resources, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe
178. Africa's Imperial Presidents: Immunity, Impunity and Accountability
- Author:
- Charles Manga Fombad and Enyinna Nwauche
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal of Legal Studies
- Institution:
- The Africa Law Institute
- Abstract:
- A fundamental tenet of modern constitutionalism is that nobody, regardless of his status in society, is above the law. Constitutional reforms in the 1990s saw the introduction in many African countries of constitutions which for the first time provide some prospects for promoting constitutionalism and respect for the rule of law. This article reviews the extent to which these reforms have addressed the issue of presidential absolutism and the abuses that go with it. It examines some of the factors that made African presidents to be so powerful that the conventional constitutional checks and balances could not restrain their excesses. It also reviews the attempts to limit impunity through immunity provisions. It concludes that unfortunately, the 1990 reforms did not adequately address the problem of presidential absolutism. A number of ways, nationally and internationally, in which presidential accountability could be enhanced and the culture of impunity ended is suggested.
- Topic:
- Law and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Africa
179. Post-Colonial Public Law: Are Current Legal Establishments Democratically Illegitimate?
- Author:
- Jean-Paul Gagnon
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal of Legal Studies
- Institution:
- The Africa Law Institute
- Abstract:
- The extant literature covering indigenous peoples resident on the African continent targets colonial law as an obstacle to the recognition of indigenous rights. Whereas colonial law is argued by a wide body of literature to be archaic and in need of review, this article takes a different route and argues the perspective that colonial law is democratically illegitimate for ordering the population it presides over – specifically in Africa. It is seen, in five case studies, that post-colonial public law structures have not considered the legitimacy of colonial law and have rather modified a variety of constitutional statutes as country contexts dictated. However, the modified statutes are based on an alien theoretical legality, something laden with connotations that hark to older and backward times. It is ultimately argued that the legal structures which underpin ex-colonies in Africa need considerable revision so as to base statutes on African theoretical legality, rather than imperialistic European ones, so as to maximise the law's democratic legitimacy for both indigenous and non-indigenous Africans.
- Topic:
- Law
- Political Geography:
- Africa
180. Provisional Registration of a Retirement Fund under Scrutiny in Swaziland
- Author:
- Mtendeweka Mhango and P. Thejane
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal of Legal Studies
- Institution:
- The Africa Law Institute
- Abstract:
- Recently the Industrial Court of Swaziland was faced with a complaint in Mngadi v Motor Vehicle Accident Fund's Pension Fund, which raised two important issues of first impression in Swaziland retirement law. This note discusses the significance and effects of Mngadi on provisional registration of retirement funds in Swaziland. It argues that Mngadi should be welcomed because it clarifies the significance of the need for retirement funds to operate in accordance with their registered rules. The note also discusses the problems with the Registrar's power to issue a provisional certificate of registration under Section 5 in light of the problems that emerged in Mngadi. The note argues that Mngadi should be welcomed because it highlights the characteristics of a defined benefit fund, and implicitly distinguishes it from a defined contribution fund. While Mngadi should generally be welcomed, the Industrial Court should be criticised for its failure to develop the law.
- Topic:
- Law
- Political Geography:
- Swaziland