122,023 research outputs found
Towards a Common European Border Service? CEPS Working Document No. 331, June 2010
No full textWhat should be the future institutional configurations of the second generation of the EU’s Integrated Border Management strategy for the common external borders? The Stockholm Programme endorsed by the European Council on December 2009 and the European Commission’s action plan implementing it published in April 2010 have brought back to the EU policy agenda the feasibility of setting up a European system of border guards as a long-term policy vision. This Working Document examines the origins of this proposal and aims at thinking ahead by asserting that any future discussion and study in this context should be refocused by initially addressing two central questions: First, what kind of 'border guard' and what kinds of 'border controls' does the EU need in light of the current EU acquis on external border crossings and the Schengen Borders Code? Second, what would be the 'added value' of any new institutional arrangement at the current stage of European integration? Author Sergio Carrera, CEPS Research Fellow, argues that these questions could presage the establishment of a common European border service aimed at i) guaranteeing a uniform implementation and high-standard application of EU border law and the materialisation of a European approach to external border controls; ii) ensuring the respect of fundamental rights and guarantees in all external border control-related activities; iii) facilitating the (de)politicisation and accountability of external border controls; and iv) addressing issues of solidarity and mutual trust building across the external borders in an enlarged EU
Border ownership from intracortical interactions in visual area V2
No full textA border between two image regions normally belongs to only one of the regions; determining which one it belongs to is essential for surface perception and figure-ground segmentation. Border ownership is signaled by a class of V2 neurons, even though its value depends on information coming from well outside their classical receptive fields. I use a model of V2 to show that this visual area is able to generate the ownership signal by itself, without requiring any top-down mechanism or external explicit labels for figures, T junctions, or corners. In the model, neurons have spatially local classical receptive fields, are tuned to orientation, and receive information (from V1) about the location and orientation of borders. Border ownership signals that model physiological observations arise through finite range, intraareal interactions. Additional effects from surface features and attention are discussed. The model licenses testable predictions
Fuel tourism in border regions
No full textThe gasoline price differential existing across the border between Switzerland and its neighbouring countries (gasoline price in Switzerland is generally lower than in the neighbouring countries) has encouraged the phenomenon of fuel tourism to develop. People living in the bordering regions of Italy, France and Germany have had an incentive to buy gasoline in Switzerland for several years. This phenomenon increased employment and fiscal revenues from fuel taxes in Switzerland, whereas in the neighbouring countries we observed lower fiscal revenues and a decrease of employment in the gasoline distribution sector. These repercussions on the government revenues have induced the North-Italian province of Lombardy to adopt measures against fuel tourism (in Italy, similar measures have already been adopted in the regions neighbouring Slovenia). For instance, the inhabitants in the regions near the border can take advantage of price rebates at the fuel stations. The reaction to the price decreases was very important: Six months after the introduction of the rebates at the Italian fuel stations, the fuel demand in the Swiss border regions decreased by 20 to 40%. On the other hand, fuel stations in Italy have realised important increases in selling. The case of fuel tourism gives a good economic example for price responsiveness. The extent to which fuel tourism can be a problem for the border region depends on the sensitivity of car owners to fuel price differentials and on the intensity of cross-bordering movements (density of population). In this paper we analyse the impact of country-specific fiscal policies on gasoline demand using aggregate data at a regional level for three Swiss border regions over the period 1986 to 1997. The data include fuel selling of three main gasoline companies in an area of 10 km from the border. For the area further away form the border, data for a sample of fuel stations are available. A log-log stochastic equation for gasoline consumption was estimated, using fuel price differences as well as regional income and other regional variables (for instance car density, commuters, number of border offices, prices of cigarettes) as independent variables. Initial estimation results show a very significant impact of price differentials on fuel demand and an important share of fuel tourism on the overall gasoline sales of Swiss border regions. It can be shown that gasoline consumption by consumers in bordering regions is very sensitive to price differentials of standardized goods like gasoline (that is goods, which do not differ from one country to the other). From an energy policy point of view this result implies that, as long as price differentials persist, there is little room in border regions for discouraging residential gasoline consumption using tax increases. Policy measures like those introduced in Italy and in other countries, in order to minimize the negative side-effects of a neighbour with low fuel taxes, seem to be successful in avoiding a loss of taxes as well as losses for owners of gas stations in the border region with higher taxes. Of course, for Switzerland this could imply a restructuring of the fuel-selling sector in border regions.
European integration and adjustment in border regions in accession countries
No full textBorder regions in accession countries are not the exception but the rule, since they cover almost 66% of the land and account for 58% of total population. The fall of the Berlin wall has put borders in a state of flux, with changes occurring in the physical location and perhaps their economic significance as well: the "core" markets moved from East to West, raising new challenges and opportunities for development for western border regions, and serious concerns for regions located along the Eastern border, potentially more sensitive to the collapse of the CMEA and the former Soviet Union. This paper aims at exploring and analysing on a comparative basis the impact of the East enlargement of the EU on border regions in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. These five countries have different development levels and geographical co-ordinates that make their comparative analysis interesting. Hungary and Slovenia are relatively more advanced than Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania. In addition, Estonia is a North European country sharing its border with Finland, while Hungary is a Central European country showing common border with Austria. Slovenia and Bulgaria are Southern European countries bordering, respectively, with Italy and Austria, and Greece. Romania does not share any border with the EU-15. As a result, Hungary and Slovenia seem have the advantage of geographical proximity to Western European core countries, while the others do not. In order to achieve the overall objective, the paper will first provide a definition and identification of border regions in the candidate countries. Every state border and border region, in fact, is unique: its meaning and significance may change dramatically through space and time. Secondly, it will provide a descriptive analysis of their relative position within each country and with respect to the EU-15 average. Thirdly, it will develop an econometric model able to analyse the determinants of regional specialisation in different type of regions (internal vs border; western versus eastern border regions, etc.). In particular, the work will explore how the ongoing process of economic integration with the EU is affecting regional specialisation and which are the winning and loosing regions in this process, in terms of regional growth prospects. This classification will be used to evaluate the likely distributional implications of enlargement for the accession countries under considerations. The overall empirical results, though limited in some counts, may serve as a reminder of border regions' challenges. They allow to identify present patterns and trends, and represent a good baseline to make inference on what changes border regions in candidate countries might expect the integration process to bring.
Trends and regional patterns of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A case of Malaysian and Indonesian acquirers
No full textProgress of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Asian region demonstrates an upstream pattern although the economy in Europe is unhealthy.In fact, many cross-border
deals in Europe are dominated by Asian and US acquirers.In 2010, Asia Pacific countries had completed over 8,300 M&A deals that involved an Asian company reported by Dealogic.
Countries such as China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are among Asian countries that are active in cross-border M&A.However, M&A trends in Malaysia and
Indonesia have not received due attention of the researchers.Present study attempts to explore this phenomenon with the specific idea of identifying the background of Malaysian and Indonesian industries that involved in cross-border M&A.Present paper also reveals
the integration trends involved when engaging in cross-border M&A. An opinion survey was conducted of the firms involved in M&A deals; the companies were identified from the Thomson One Banker main database which covers cross border M&A cases completed in Malaysian and Indonesia. Results show that engineering, software and telecommunication industries are among the leading industries engaged in cross-border M&A.Results also
reflect that in terms of nationality of the acquired firms, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore are among favourites to Malaysian and Indonesian acquirers.The study
highlights higher success compared to failures in cross-border M&A in the countries under reference
Competitive implications of cross-border banking
No full textThis paper reviews the recent literature on cross-border banking, with a focus on policy implications. Cross-border banking has increased sharply in recent decades, particularly in the form of entry, and has affected the development of financial systems, access to financial services, and stability. Reviewing the empirical literature, the author finds much, although not uniform, evidence that cross-border banking supports the development of an efficient and stable financial system that offers a wide access to quality financial services at low cost. But as better financial systems have more cross-border banking, the relationship between cross-border banking and competitiveness has to be carefully judged. While developing countries have some special conditions, provided a minimum degree of oversight is in place, they experience effects similar to industrial countries. There are some questions, though, on the effects of cross-border banking on lending based on softer information and on stability. Relevant experiences from capital markets show that the degree of cross-border financial activities can affect local market sustainability and there can be path dependency when opening up to cross-border competition. Reviewing the fast changing landscape of financial services provision, the author argues that cross-border banking highlights the increased importance of competition policy in financial services provision. This competition policy cannot be traditional, institutional based, but will need to resemble that used in other network industries. Furthermore, with globalization accelerating, competition policy will need to be global, supported by greater cross-border institutional collaboration and using the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) process and the disciplines of the World Trade Organization. GATS can be of special value to developing countries as it provides a binding, pro-competition framework that has proven more difficult to establish otherwise.Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Financial Intermediation,Knowledge Economy,Education for the Knowledge Economy
Why stop there? Mexican migration to the U.S. border region
No full textThe transformation of the U.S. border economy since the 1980s provides a fascinating backdrop to explore how migration to the U.S-side of the Mexican border has changed vis-a-vis migration to the U.S. interior. Some long-standing patterns of border migrants remained unchanged during this period while others underwent drastic changes. For example, border migrants are consistently more likely to be female, to have migrated within Mexico, and to lack migrant networks as compared with migrants to the U.S. interior. Meanwhile, the occupational profile of border migrants has changed drastically from being predominately agricultural work to being largely made up of service-sector and sales-related work. Border migration is more sensitive to Mexican and U.S. business cycles than migration to the U.S. interior throughout the period and, while the data suggest border migrant wages may have caught up to other migrants' wages by the early 2000s, multivariate analysis indicates that border migrants who are female and/or undocumented continue to earn far less than such migrants who work in the U.S. interior.Emigration and immigration
Climate Policy and Border Tax Adjustments: Some New Wine Mixed with Old Wine in New Green Bottles?
No full textCurrent policy discussions are making a very clear connection between domestic climate policies and international trade. In this article, the economic, legal and implementation issues relating to border tax adjustments for climate policies are discussed. The overall conclusion drawn is that the connection between trade and the environment is not new, having been discussed in considerable detail since the early 1990s, and reflected in an extensive economics literature. In addition, the legal aspects of border tax adjustments are not particularly new, although only a WTO ruling on their use in the presence of domestic climate policies will resolve any legal uncertainty about their use. However, there are some new issues concerning the determination and implementation of border tax adjustments for domestic climate polices that do present additional layers of complexity.climate policy, competitiveness, border tax adjustment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Political Economy,
Distant neighbours. Economic adjustment processes at the Finnish-Russian border
No full textFor decades, the closed East/West border was an effective barrier for cross-border interaction at a local and regional level. It was reflected, among other things, in production structures and settlement patterns in the border regions. Since around 1990, economic and other forms of cross-border linkages have been possible, and they have raised the issue about adjustment processes, that is, whether regional and local economic actors are able to utilise existing complementarities and create new ones, and how this will make itself felt in the roles of the border regions in the international division of labour. The paper investigates regional adjustment processes in the case of the Finnish-Russian border, which is characterised by one of the deepest socio-economic and cultural gaps in Europe. First, the reasons for the specialisation of the neighbouring regional economies under the period of the closed border are analysed. Against this background, the repercussions of the partial opening of the border are evaluated in relation to the other driving forces of their development trends in the 1990s. It is concluded that the regions on both sides have lagged behind their respective national averages, although border-related adjustment processes have had quite diverse economic impacts. In Finland, these impacts have remained relatively marginal in most border regions. In the Russian borderlands, some local and regional economies have undergone profound changes in their market orientation due to the proximity of the border; instead of being specialised producers for the Russian market, they are now locked in the international division of labour as economic peripheries.
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