A Solidaristic Approach to Workers’ Compensation Reform in Taiwan

The workers’ compensation system in Taiwan cannot provide sufficient coverage for all workers. This essay adopts a solidaristic approach to address this issue by analyzing the reasons why workers’ compensation is underdeveloped in Taiwan and what could be done to persuade more key actors to support the reform for a more just policy arrangement. First, through comparison with the healthcare system, it is argued that the lack of solidarity and the perception of relevant similarities could explain the underdevelopment of workers’ compensation. Second, the essay turns to the normative aspect of the issue. Compared with other normative political theories, Iris M. Young’s social connection model provides specific normative guidance that is useful for justifying the allocation of responsibility for a more just workers’ compensation reform.

Promoting Bank Stability through Compensation Reform: Lessons from Iceland

This article argues that the program of compensation reform at financial institutions – despite recent wide-ranging changes – remains incomplete. A considerable body of theoretical and empirical research has been developed which, for the most part, suggests that compensation incentives embedded in compensation contracts at banks encouraged risk-taking behaviour which contributed to the Global Financial Crisis. Extensive reforms to compensation rules at financial institutions have been implemented across the globe, including increased use of deferral, mandatory capping of bonuses and the introduction of claw-back powers. Relying on observations on the failures of Icelandic and UK banks, and legal and economic analyses of compensation reforms in each jurisdiction, this paper argues that some elements of the Icelandic and UK reform programs ought to be transposed to the EU level. Arguably, these recommendations will help improve the resilience of the European banking system and contribute to greater financial stability.