Fair Competition Review Applying in Tobacco Monopoly of China: on the Practice of Administrative Self-Regulation

Objectives: This article attempts to discuss the practice of China’s fair competition review mechanism applying in China’s tobacco monopoly administrative system as an administrative self-regulation act. Methods: by reviewing the literature, relevant website and applying the liberal interpretation in legal provisions of China, this paper reveals the important reasons behind the establishment of fair review system by the Chinese government —the existence of administrative monopoly and the problems caused by the deficiency of China's existing external regulation. Results: by combing the legal foundation of fair competition review mechanism, this paper responds to the rationality of China's adoption of self-regulation model. Furthermore, through the discussion of the applying of fair review in tobacco industry’s administration, it responds to the practice of tobacco monopoly’s self-regulation. Conclusion: the article concludes that China's fair review system can be partially applied to China's tobacco monopoly.

Study on the Operation Efficiency of Toll Roads in China from the Perspective of Scale Economy

Although China’s toll highways are world-renowned, they suffer from indisputable operational inefficiencies. Operationally, China’s toll highway sector is characterized by an administrative monopoly. In particular, governmental loan-repayment highways have such characteristics as franchising, monopoly, and “one highway by one company.” Hence, this study concentrates on the relationship between economic performance, administrative monopoly, and scale efficiency with respect to toll highways, and explores how the China-specific administrative monopoly affects the transformation of toll highways from scale to efficiency. Using the globally referenced data envelopment analysis- (DEA-) Malmquist Index, this study first measures the operational efficiency of China’s toll highway sector from 2010 to 2017. Based on provincial panel data, this paper then discusses the relationship between toll highway scale and economic performance through system-generalized method of moments estimation and verifies the status quo of the transformation of toll highways from scale to efficiency. From the provincial and industrial perspectives, this study further verifies how an administrative monopoly restricts the transformation from scale to total factor productivity and scale efficiency through the unique operation pattern in the toll highway sector. Finally, this study conducts an extended analysis of the relationship between operational efficiency and debt in the toll highway sector. The administrative monopoly is found to increase the debt burden of the toll highway sector and to have a negative impact on the long-term sustainability of the sector.

Entities of UJITS development: advantages and disadvantages of state and private enterprises involving

The article provides results of a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of involving the state enterprise “InformationJudicial Systems” and private entities to the development and implementation of the Unified Judicial Information and TelecommunicationSystem in Ukraine. The “backlog” of the plan for the development and implementation of the UJITS is related to the lowefficiency of economic activity of the state enterprise “Information Judicial Systems”, which maintains an “administrative monopoly”on the establishment of the UJITS.Due to obtaining data about the activities of this state-owned enterprise, the author concludes that nowadays state enterprise“Information Judicial Systems” has an adequate financial, human and production potential for the development of the UJITS. At thesame time, the author sums up that due to a lack of competition the company’s specialists are not motivated in the fastest developmentof this information and telecommunication product, and the enterprise involves additional entities to fulfill the state order, which actuallyleads to unjustified and irrational spending of state budget. In this regard, it is shown as perspective the involvement of otherlicensed business entities (including private ones) on a competitive basis to the development of the Unified Judicial Information andTelecommunication System.Execution of the state order on a competitive basis will indicate the restriction of “administrative monopoly”, promote competitionand ultimately intensify the development and implementation of the UJITS in Ukraine. In order to prevent the risks of untimely,improper provision or non-provision of information services for the development of the UJITS, the author considers it appropriate toenvisage in the state contract (agreement) enhanced economic-law responsibility of the contractor and oblige to provide commensuratewith the cost of the state order insurance of the proper execution of their obligations.The legislator needs special attention in case of involvement to the UJITS developers on a competitive basis in managing therisks of leakage and dissemination of information about the peculiarities of the UJITS operation, prevention of unauthorized interfe -rence in the system, distortion of information contained in the UJITS after its establishment.

“Leaky Bucket” of Kazakhstan’s Power Grid: Losses and Inefficient Distribution of Electric Power

This paper aims to determine and explain the main factors for power losses (the so-called “leaky bucket” effect) in Kazakhstan and the reasons for inefficient energy distribution within the country. Energy efficiency in Kazakhstan is much lower compared to more economically developed countries. The differences between energy efficiency in various regions of Kazakhstan are also significant. This article explores the impact of administrative monopoly tariffs on the regional energy efficiency, based on a national study conducted in Kazakhstan in 2017. The purpose of the study was to identify the administrative barriers and their impact on the sustainability of enterprise development. What hinders the distribution of energy resources among different regions is artificial barriers in the energy market and the administrative tariff monopoly for electric power. This leads to the inefficient distribution of resources throughout the country. In addition, it is difficult to leverage low distribution efficiency in the absence of a market. The authors attempt to prove that the magnitude of administrative barriers directly affects the efficiency and competitiveness of business, as well as the final prices of goods and services for the end consumer.

White Sea Canal: the experience of ensuring transportation safety under the conditions of the first confessional agreements of the Moscovian State of the XVI-XVII centuries

The subject of this article is the problems associated with ensuring transportation safety n the Moscovian State of the XVI-XVII centuries. The author examines the conditions and causal links that influenced the choice of certain measures for ensuring transportation safety. Analysis is conducted on the new to the Moscovian State practice of granting administrative monopoly on ensuring transportation safety to meet the interests of the representatives of certain foreign countries and corporations. The factors substantiating the implementation of administrative monopoly are explained. The algorithm for resolving the cases associated with infringement on the security of English transports in the Moscovian State is described. The scientific novelty of this research consists in determination of noncompliance of the goals of ensuring transportation safety that were claimed in the normative documents (Charters of the Russian tsars of the XVI-XVII centuries) with the actual capabilities and practice for its provision. The conclusion is made that the guarantees of the English sea transportation indicated in the charters of Moscovian tsars should be viewed merely as the declaration of good intentions, rather than factual help. The comparative legal analysis of archival documents allows establishing the fact the English kings interpreted charters of the Moscovian tsars on their own behalf, granting the English nationals the rights and privileges in the area of transportation safety.