scholarly journals The diffusion of norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and the resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific, in particular among signatory countries of the TPP

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lan Thi Thu Pham
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Labor Standards ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Workers

<p>People are central to economic development. Workers are relatively vulnerable compared to the other factors of the economy, including governments and employers. Because violations of workers’ rights and poor working conditions are prevalent, especially in developing countries, the diffusion of internationally recognized labor standards is now emerging as a critical process in the world. This is a process by which internationally recognized labor rights are transferred between countries by various means with the expectation of improving labor conditions world-wide. For this process to be successful, it is important that not only labor standards but also rules and mechanisms for their enforcement be diffused. The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) is currently under negotiation. The TPP is expected to be the first “high-quality, twenty-first-century agreement” in the world. Norm entrepreneurs have chosen the TPP to be a channel for the diffusion of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific. How is the TPP likely to diffuse the norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and dispute resolution? Will it be by means of goodwill, cooperation and consensus or through material conditionality? Labor rights are human rights which must be upheld and promoted. The answer to the above empirical question is very important to the policy-makers of signatory countries of the TPP, given that labor standards are considered to be a sensitive issue in many Asian countries. Their concerns are grounded in history. The Government of Poland and the communist system in Eastern Europe were brought down as a result of the implementation of labor rights in the 1980s¹. How to implement these rights without causing social and political disorder is a complex question for policy-makers in the TPP countries. The thesis reviews the literature on theoretical norm diffusion and labor standards as well as provides the empirical evidence of past diffusion of labor standards in order to identify which mechanisms of diffusion are likely to prevail in the field of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific region. It answers who are the drivers of diffusion. It draws on the record of all signed FTAs in the region to provide an empirical foundation for its projection about the likely content of the TPP in terms of rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards.  ¹ After the rights to organize freely and to strike was recognized by the Government of Poland, the Solidarity Unions was formed and after many ups and downs of its evolution, finally it had led successfully the overthrow of the communist Government of Poland and “played a central role in the demise of communism across the Soviet bloc, changing forever the course of history in Europe”. Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060898.html, and http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1969_detente/fall_of_communism.html</p>

scholarly journals The diffusion of norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and the resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific, in particular among signatory countries of the TPP

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lan Thi Thu Pham
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Labor Standards ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Workers

<p>People are central to economic development. Workers are relatively vulnerable compared to the other factors of the economy, including governments and employers. Because violations of workers’ rights and poor working conditions are prevalent, especially in developing countries, the diffusion of internationally recognized labor standards is now emerging as a critical process in the world. This is a process by which internationally recognized labor rights are transferred between countries by various means with the expectation of improving labor conditions world-wide. For this process to be successful, it is important that not only labor standards but also rules and mechanisms for their enforcement be diffused. The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) is currently under negotiation. The TPP is expected to be the first “high-quality, twenty-first-century agreement” in the world. Norm entrepreneurs have chosen the TPP to be a channel for the diffusion of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific. How is the TPP likely to diffuse the norms, rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards and dispute resolution? Will it be by means of goodwill, cooperation and consensus or through material conditionality? Labor rights are human rights which must be upheld and promoted. The answer to the above empirical question is very important to the policy-makers of signatory countries of the TPP, given that labor standards are considered to be a sensitive issue in many Asian countries. Their concerns are grounded in history. The Government of Poland and the communist system in Eastern Europe were brought down as a result of the implementation of labor rights in the 1980s¹. How to implement these rights without causing social and political disorder is a complex question for policy-makers in the TPP countries. The thesis reviews the literature on theoretical norm diffusion and labor standards as well as provides the empirical evidence of past diffusion of labor standards in order to identify which mechanisms of diffusion are likely to prevail in the field of labor standards in the Asia-Pacific region. It answers who are the drivers of diffusion. It draws on the record of all signed FTAs in the region to provide an empirical foundation for its projection about the likely content of the TPP in terms of rules and mechanisms for the enforcement of labor standards.  ¹ After the rights to organize freely and to strike was recognized by the Government of Poland, the Solidarity Unions was formed and after many ups and downs of its evolution, finally it had led successfully the overthrow of the communist Government of Poland and “played a central role in the demise of communism across the Soviet bloc, changing forever the course of history in Europe”. Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060898.html, and http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1969_detente/fall_of_communism.html</p>

scholarly journals Development of mandatory & voluntary instruments of sustainability reporting (SR) according to carrots & sticks 2006 - 2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ririn Breliastiti
Keyword(s):  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Government Regulations ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Sustainability Report (SR) has become one of the main reports of the world's leading companies. In 2005, it was found that more than 250 top companies listed on the Fortune 500 had prepared SR separately from the Annual Report. The development of the number of SRs in each country varies. In the developed countries, awareness to compile and issue SR is supported by government regulations so that SR becomes mandatory. In developing countries, SR is still voluntary because there is still no regulation that requires companies to compile and issue SR. The Carrots & Sticks report, compiled and published by KPMG, United Nations Environment Program, Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa & the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), provided details on the development of mandatory and voluntary instruments in implementing Sustainability Reporting (SR) in various Countries throughout the world from 2006 to 2016. Therefore, this research aims to find out the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policies) related to SR in the world. This type of research is a literature review. The research instrument used consists of a tabulation containing the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policy) related to SR in the world, then the researcher conducted an analysis of these findings. The results show that there is an increasing enthusiasm for the application of SR throughout the world. There is an increase in commitment and efforts to achieve transparency and accountability. In countries that have an interest in SR, there has been a significant development, such as 19 countries in 2006, 32 countries in 2010, 45 countries and regions in 2013, and 71 countries and regions in 2016. Indonesia is one of the countries in the Asia Pacific region that has given attention to SR and has its regulations. SR regulations have grown from 180 in 2013 to 400 in 2016, with government regulations dominating 80% of all regulations. Mandatory instruments dominate more than voluntary instruments. Application of SR 30% is for large companies that have been listed on the stock exchange. SR reporting by public companies has covered all sectors on the stock exchange. This development was greatly influenced by the role of the government which encouraged companies to disclose information about sustainability in their annual reports. "Social" reporting instruments show a faster development than "environmental" reporting instruments. 

scholarly journals Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Analysis of Bangladesh’s Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-177
Author(s):  
Rifat Mahmud
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Crisis Responses ◽  
Second Wave

The first wave of the COVID- 19 disease has caused a daunting and unprecedented challenge for governments of the world. Decision-makers worldwide, including that of Bangladesh, had to initiate responses that were beyond the conventional measures. This paper offers the decision-makers in Bangladesh on the possible learning in the field of crisis management during this pandemic. The paper aims in focusing on the first phase of responses to COVID-19 (March-May) from the initial lockdown to the reopening of offices by the government of Bangladesh. Methodologically, the paper is a content analysis involving netnography approach of data collection from websites. The paper presents a finding of possible lessons of crisis responses in Bangladesh. The paper aims to create an agenda for learning lessons from the situation of the largest crisis to hit the world in centuries. The paper induces substantial value for policy-makers to be prepared for the second wave of the COVID- 19 crisis, to meet the challenges of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Whither Policing Cryptocurrency in Malaysia?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonny Zulhuda ◽  
Afifah binti Sayuti
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Payment Systems ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Digital Currency ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Financial Technology

Cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, is a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank. It is an emerging financial technology enabled by innovation, increasingly popular among global Internet users, and more interestingly, it challenges the existing financial and regulatory rules on the currency and payment systems of the world today. On the other side, certain cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, have been actively used as payment tools for illicit transactions. Both the “promising” and "challenging" faces of cryptocurrency trigger causes for concern for policy makers, not only from financial sector, but also legal and technological sectors. The decentralised nature of cryptocurrency creates unique problems for the government to regulate or impose any regulatory requirements. This article argues that, in order for Malaysia to remain at the forefront of financial and digital innovation, it is timely to look at the question on whether to formulate certain policy and regulatory framework on the use of cryptocurrency in Malaysian market. The answer can pave the way for Malaysian digital citizens to potentially grab the opportunities made possible by the cryptocurrency technology. For this purpose, the researchers seek to study the features of cryptocurrency and the experiences from policymakers in other jurisdictions in dealing with the matter.

Fairtrade Certification, Labor Standards, and Labor Rights

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura T. Raynolds
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Labor Standards ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Systematic Account ◽  
Voluntary Programs ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
Certification System ◽  
Compliance Model ◽  
Inclusive Governance

Fairtrade International certification is the primary social certification in the agro-food sector intended to promote the well-being and empowerment of farmers and workers in the Global South. Although Fairtrade's farmer program is well studied, far less is known about its labor certification. Helping fill this gap, this article provides a systematic account of Fairtrade's labor certification system and standards and compares it to four other voluntary programs addressing labor conditions in global agro-export sectors. The study explains how Fairtrade International institutionalizes its equity and empowerment goals in its labor certification system and its recently revised labor standards. Drawing on critiques of compliance-based labor standards programs and proposals regarding the central features of a ‘beyond compliance’ approach, the inquiry focuses on Fairtrade's efforts to promote inclusive governance, participatory oversight, and enabling rights. I argue that Fairtrade is making important, but incomplete, advances in each domain, pursuing a ‘worker-enabling compliance’ model based on new audit report sharing, living wage, and unionization requirements and its established Premium Program. While Fairtrade pursues more robust ‘beyond compliance’ advances than competing programs, the study finds that, like other voluntary initiatives, Fairtrade faces critical challenges in implementing its standards and realizing its empowerment goals.

Exploring the Ethics and Economics of Global Labor Standards: A Challenge to Integrated Social Contract Theory

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura P. Hartman ◽  
Bill Shaw ◽  
Rodney Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Labor Standards ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Worker Rights ◽  
Cultural Conflicts ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
Ethics And Economics

Abstract:The challenge that confronts corporate decision-makers in connection with global labor conditions is often in identifying the standards by which they should govern themselves. In an effort to provide greater direction in the face of possible global cultural conflicts, ethicists Thomas Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee draw on social contract theory to develop a method for identifying basic human rights: Integrated Social Contract Theory (ISCT). In this paper, we apply ISCT to the challenge of global labor standards, attempting to identify labor rights that could serve as guides for corporations producing or outsourcing outside of their home country. In addition to identifying areas of universal agreement, we also examine whether ISCT is, in fact, a sufficient basis for determining worker rights; we seek to define the parameters of the “sweatshop” problem; we include the application and results of our ISCT analysis as applied to labor standards: the global labor rights hypernorms; and conclude that ISCT is sufficient only for rights that are universal. We also discuss whether market-driven decisions can identify the boundaries of labor rights, or at least assure that market outcomes are compatible with maintaining labor rights, in order to respond to the shortcomings of ISCT. We conclude with some comments on directions of analysis for labor rights determination.

“The Period After 1989”

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 378-383
Author(s):  
Václav Havel ◽  
Adam Michnik ◽  
Translated by Clare Cavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

This guest column amounts to a conversation between two of the most crucial Soviet bloc dissidents about developments since the 1989 overthrow of communismin their part of the world. They agree that a “creeping coup d’état” is underway in which not only the government administrations of their countries have changed but also their systems of governance—and changed for the worse. “It is not,” they agree, “what the democratic opposition spent twenty-five years fighting for.” Their apprehension is that, under new forms, the old authoritarian impulses are returning to East-Central Europe as well as to Russia.

scholarly journals Reformasi Birokrasi Melalui E-Governance : Peluang atau Tantangan Dalam Pelayanan Publik ?

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainuddin Mustapa
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Vacuum Chamber ◽  
Monitoring Systems ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The World ◽  
Government Bureaucracy ◽  
The Government ◽  
Cultural Constraints ◽  
Local Levels

The government will continue to strive to make efforts to reform the bureaucracy, as an integral part of improving government management and enhance the dignity of the government in the eyes of the international community and the world. However, increasingly based on that, the reform is not easy, because he did not take place in a vacuum chamber. Bureaucratic reforms face cultural constraints, structural and even mental constraints of bureaucracy, in addition to technical constraints. The problems are now required is a renewed commitment of the leaders or officials at central and local levels to continue to push reforms through e-government bureaucracy. Important conclusions can be drawn from this study is that e-government is implemented seriously and consistently will greatly support the transparency of public services. What also must be understood by government officials is that the use of e-government still requires consistent monitoring systems. In addition to extensive knowledge of information technology, e-government must also be supported by good integrity among policy makers and pelaksannya. Teknoogi information does make many things easier and more efficient.Pemerintah akan terus berusaha melakukan upaya untuk mereformasi birokrasi, sebagai bagian integral untuk meningkatkan manajemen pemerintahan dan meningkatkan martabat pemerintah di mata masyarakat internasional dan dunia. Namun, semakin berdasarkan itu, reformasi tidak mudah, karena ia tidak terjadi dalam ruang vakum. Reformasi birokrasi menghadapi kendala budaya, hambatan struktural dan bahkan mental birokrasi, di samping kendala teknis. Masalah sekarang yang dibutuhkan adalah komitmen baru dari para pemimpin atau pejabat di tingkat pusat dan daerah untuk terus mendorong reformasi melalui e-government birokrasi. Kesimpulan penting yang dapat ditarik dari penelitian ini adalah bahwa e-government dilaksanakan dengan serius dan konsisten akan sangat mendukung transparansi pelayanan publik. Yang juga harus dipahami oleh pejabat pemerintah adalah bahwa penggunaan e-government masih memerlukan sistem monitoring rutin. Selain pengetahuan luas tentang teknologi informasi, e-government juga harus didukung oleh integritas yang baik di antara pembuat kebijakan dan pelaksannya. Informasi teknoogi tidak membuat banyak hal lebih mudah dan lebih efisien.

scholarly journals Tantangan Implementasi Konvergensi pada Program Pencegahan Stunting di Kabupaten Prioritas

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurista Permanasari ◽  
Meda Permana ◽  
Joko Pambudi ◽  
Bunga Christitha Rosha ◽  
Made Dewi Susilawati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Operational Research ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Nutrition Interventions ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Depth Interviews

Stunting is one of the nutritional problems faced in the world, including Indonesia. To overcome this problem, the government conducted a program to accelerate stunting prevention in 100 priority districts / cities through specific and sensitive nutrition interventions including health and non-health stakeholders. Interventions are carried out in a convergent manner by aligning various resources to achieve the goal of preventing stunting.The convergence is carried out from the planning, budgeting, implementation, to monitoring stages. The purpose of this study is to analyse the challenges of implementing the convergence of stunting prevention programs that have been running since 2018 by local governments in priority districts / cities based on content, context, process, and actors. The research method is operational research with a research design using a qualitative approach design with in-depth interviews in 13 priority districts/cities. The health policy triangle framework is used as an approach in analyzing the results of this study which consists of content, context, process, and actors. In-depth interview sources are policy makers and program managers to accelerate stunting reduction from province to sub-district and village. The results showed that the challenge in implementing convergence was the existence of sectoral egos in each OPD (stakeholders) because of the socialization was not yet optimal so that many stakeholders did not fully understand the stunting prevention program. Information that was late in being obtained, information cut off from socialization, and difficult demographic conditions in the area where one of the causes in certain areas of the obstruction of socialization. The implementation of convergence that has not been optimal is also due to the ansence operational and technical guidelines for implementing program when the research was conducted so that the regions do not know the steps to carry out these activities. Abstrak Masalah anak pendek (stunting) merupakan salah satu permasalahan gizi yang dihadapi di dunia, termasuk Indonesia. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan stunting, pemerintah melakukan program percepatan penanggulangan stunting di 100 kabupaten kota prioritas yang melibatkan sektor kesehatan dan non kesehatan melalui intervensi gizi spesifik dan sensitif. Penyelenggaraan intervensi dilakukan secara konvergen dengan menyelaraskan berbagai sumber daya untuk mencapai tujuan pencegahan stunting. Konvergensi dilakukan mulai dari tahap perencanaan, penganggaran, pelaksanaan, sampai monitoring. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menganalisis tantangan implementasi konvergensi program pencegahan stunting yang telah berjalan sejak tahun 2018 oleh pemerintah daerah pada Kabupaten prioritas berdasarkan konten, konteks, proses, dan aktor. Metode penelitian merupakan operational research dengan desain penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode wawancara mendalam di 13 kabupaten prioritas. Kerangka segitiga kebijakan kesehatan digunakan sebagai pendekatan dalam menganalisis hasil penelitian ini yang terdiri dari konten, konteks, proses, dan aktor. Informan wawancara mendalam ialah para pengambil kebijakan dan pengelola program percepatan penurunan stunting dari mulai provinsi sampai kecamatan dan desa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tantangan dalam implementasi konvergensi ialah masih adanya ego sektoral pada masingmasing OPD karena masih belum optimalnya sosialisasi sehingga banyak yang belum memahami secara menyeluruh mengenai program pencegahan stunting. Informasi yang terlambat diperoleh, terputusnya informasi dari sosialisasi, serta kondisi demografi wilayah yang sulit menjadi salah satu penyebab pada beberapa daerah tertentu tehadap terhambatnya sosialisasi. Implementasi konvergensi yang belum optimal juga dikarenakan belum diperolehnya juklak dan juknis dalam melaksanakan program saat penelitian dilakukan sehingga daerah belum tahu langkah untuk melakukan kegiatan tersebut.

scholarly journals Imagining pandemics now, and then: a century of medical failure

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Honigsbaum
Keyword(s):  
Medical Profession ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

Ever since the devastating 1918–1919 influenza pandemic, policy makers have employed mathematical models to predict the course of epidemics and pandemics in an effort to mitigate their worst impacts. But while Britain has long been a pioneer of predictive epidemiology and disease modellers occupied influential positions on key committees that advised the government on its response to the coronavirus pandemic, as in 1918 Britain mounted one of the least effective responses to Covid-19 of any country in the world. Arguing that this ‘failure of expertise’ was the result of medical and political complacency and over-reliance on disease models predicated on influenza, this paper uses the lens of medical history to show how medical attitudes to Covid-19 mirrored those of the English medical profession in 1918. Rather than putting our faith in preventive medicine and statistical technologies to predict the course of epidemics and dictate suppressive measures in future, I argue we need to cultivate more profound forms of imaginative engagement with infectious disease outbreaks that take account of the long history of quarantines and the lived experiences of pandemics. A useful starting point would be to recognize that while measures such as the R° may be useful for calculating the reproductive rate of a virus, they can never capture the full risks of pandemics or their social complexity.

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