Law, economics, social sciences

For the first time in the history of European integration, the Treaty of Lisbon allows a member country to leave the EU without giving a reason. What consequences could the exit option have? Can it be assumed that the member countries will not consider leaving the EU because EU membership has been so advantageous up to now? Or will the end of the European integration process be heralded with the now explicit option to leave? Could the right to withdraw...

Corresponding to the saying "Too many cooks spoil the broth" political decision-making is a challenging issue, especially when more than one party is involved. In the common opinion, political fragmentation either in parliament or in government slows down the legislative process and causes reform blockades. Whether too many cooks are really the source of these drawbacks is questionable as many other factors such as compensation payments, strategies and social norms are also connected with the process of decision-making and the...

Especially in times of economic tension, there is a feeling that financial markets do not contribute to the common good. In the course of increasing globalization, financial and currency crises not only harm the local polluters, but also seemingly uninvolved groups of society beyond national borders. Overall, international capital flows have a decisive influence on the development of the global economy due to their volume and speed. It is therefore necessary for financial markets to function in accordance with their...

Since the beginning of the reform and opening-up policy, China has confirmed its ability to change through very high economic growth and relatively low inflation rates. The People's Bank of China, as the Chinese central bank, has made an outstanding contribution to economic development through its monetary policy. Due to the different economic and financial structure compared to Western countries, the functioning and logic of Chinese monetary policy is characterized by a number of special features. This book provides an...

The introduction of a single currency was the political goal pursued on the African continent when the Organization for African Unity was founded in 1963. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the possibility of implementing a single currency in Africa. The economic integration process will be at the center of the debate. i.e. the accent of this present work is not only on the single currency itself, but and much more on the path of integration that leads...

The present book follows the emerged view and growing awareness of the enhancing and discouraging effects in recent years that institutions may play for the female labor force participation. These institutions encompass formal and informal social rules and norms (customs, traditions, codes of conduct). The aim of this work is to examine the effect of several such social institutions (formal and informal constraints) imposed on women, which were provided by the OECD Social Institutions and Development Database (GID) and are...

The book retail industry is changing. With the rise of the internet and e-books, the stationary book trade is confronted with a precarious situation, which results in numerous business closures and insolvencies year after year. The big retailers Thalia, Mayersche, Hugendubel and Co. have now started to reduce the number of their branches after years of expansion policy. The remaining businesses are evolving more and more from bookstores to media houses, which increasingly offer DVDs, toys and other non-book items....

Since the 1970s, science has been pointing to the continuous decline in biological diversity. Companies in particular find it difficult to strategically anchor biodiversity aspects in their organization, even though they operate comprehensive sustainability management. The concept of the Biodiversity Balanced Scorecard starts here and offers companies a methodical instrument with which biodiversity aspects can be operationalized, i.e. made measurable and controllable. Details Title: Strategic biodiversity management using a Biodiversity Balanced Scorecard Author: Niels Christiansen Edition: 1st edition Published: 1st...

Road freight transport is becoming more and more the focus of criminals. The procedures are becoming more and more well thought out. A special type of theft of goods is fraud. There is currently only little empirical knowledge about the extent of cargo fraud and embezzlement in Germany. This is where the survey of transport and insurance companies comes in, with information from other parties such as police authorities, detective agencies and freight exchange operators also being included. Based on...