a column by Yong Suk Lee, Benjamin Cedric Larsen, Michael Webb and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
As artificial intelligence becomes more widespread and its performance improves, it will likely have significant long-term consequences for jobs, inequality, organisations, and competition. Regulation may be used to address its risks and possibilities, but little is known about how AI-related regulation might affect firm behaviour.
This column examines the impact of actual and potential AI regulations on business managers through a randomised online survey experiment. It finds that exposure to information about regulation decreases managers’ reported intent to adopt AI technologies in their firm’s business processes.
Continue reading
There are four very useful figures which provide visual information (my favourite way of absorbing facts) but without the text they do not make a great deal of sense!
Showing posts with label regulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regulation. Show all posts
Friday, 20 December 2019
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Corporate killing law reform: A spatio-temporal fix to a crisis of capitalism?
an article by Steven Bittle and Lori Stinson (University of Ottawa, Canada) published in Capital & Class Volume 43 Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
The first decade of the new millennium saw the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom enact criminal legislation intended to hold corporations accountable for negligently killing workers and/or members of the public.
Drawing empirically from document analyses and semistructured interviews, as well as theoretical insights concerning the crisis-prone tendencies of capital, this article demonstrates how both laws were conceived in ways that spatio-temporally delimited the ‘problem’ of corporate killing and re-secured the (neoliberal) capitalist status quo.
In so doing, we argue that the inability of the state to hold powerful corporations and corporate actors to account for their serious offending presents strategic opportunities for demanding improved accountability measures and changes to a system responsible for so much bloodshed and killing.
Abstract
The first decade of the new millennium saw the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom enact criminal legislation intended to hold corporations accountable for negligently killing workers and/or members of the public.
Drawing empirically from document analyses and semistructured interviews, as well as theoretical insights concerning the crisis-prone tendencies of capital, this article demonstrates how both laws were conceived in ways that spatio-temporally delimited the ‘problem’ of corporate killing and re-secured the (neoliberal) capitalist status quo.
In so doing, we argue that the inability of the state to hold powerful corporations and corporate actors to account for their serious offending presents strategic opportunities for demanding improved accountability measures and changes to a system responsible for so much bloodshed and killing.
Thursday, 13 June 2019
Political control and policy-making uncertainty in executive orders: the implementation of environmental justice policy
an article by Co;lin Provost (University College London, UK) and Brian J Gerber (Arizona State University, USA) published in Journal of Public Policy Volume 39 Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
Environmental justice (EJ) has represented an important equity challenge in policymaking for decades. President Clinton’s executive order (EO) 12898 in 1994 represented a significant federal action, requiring agencies to account for EJ issues in new rulemakings.
We examine the impact of EO 12898 within the larger question of how EO are implemented in complex policymaking. We argue that presidential preferences will affect bureaucratic responsiveness and fire alarm oversight.
However, EJ policy complexity produces uncertainty leading to bureaucratic risk aversion, constraining presidential efforts to steer policy.
We utilise an original data set of nearly 2,000 final federal agency rules citing EO 12898 and find significant variation in its utilisation across administrations. Uncertainty over the nature of the order has an important influence on bureaucratic responsiveness.
Our findings are instructive for the twin influences of political control and policy-making uncertainty and raise useful questions for future EJ and policy implementation research.
Full text (PDF 30pp)
Abstract
Environmental justice (EJ) has represented an important equity challenge in policymaking for decades. President Clinton’s executive order (EO) 12898 in 1994 represented a significant federal action, requiring agencies to account for EJ issues in new rulemakings.
We examine the impact of EO 12898 within the larger question of how EO are implemented in complex policymaking. We argue that presidential preferences will affect bureaucratic responsiveness and fire alarm oversight.
However, EJ policy complexity produces uncertainty leading to bureaucratic risk aversion, constraining presidential efforts to steer policy.
We utilise an original data set of nearly 2,000 final federal agency rules citing EO 12898 and find significant variation in its utilisation across administrations. Uncertainty over the nature of the order has an important influence on bureaucratic responsiveness.
Our findings are instructive for the twin influences of political control and policy-making uncertainty and raise useful questions for future EJ and policy implementation research.
Full text (PDF 30pp)
Tuesday, 9 April 2019
Considering the legitimacy of homeless hostels as sites of discipline and regulation
Ian Mahoney (Nottingham Trent University, UK) published in International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy Volume 39 Issue 3/4 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critique the role of homeless hostels in contemporary society, examining their role and legitimacy as sites of discipline and regulation of behaviors, ideas and aspirations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research draws upon in-depth qualitative interviews and supplementary observations undertaken in two homeless hostels in Stoke-on-Trent.
Findings
The research finds that even the most benign interventions enacted in homeless hostels are infused with disciplinary and regulatory techniques and suggests that the author needs to consider the legitimacy and efficacy of such approaches when seeking to understand the role of the hostel in assisting residents in (re)developing their autonomy.
Research limitations/implications
While there are legitimate reasons for the deployment of such techniques in some cases, legitimacy can be undermined where expectations go unmet or where developing residents’ and service user’s needs are not necessarily the main object of the interventions.
Practical implications
Hostel providers need to consider the ethicality and legitimacy of the interventions in place when seeking to help service users and residents to (re)develop their autonomy and ensure that efforts are focused in an effective and meaningful way.
Social implications
Homeless people are among the most vulnerable and excluded in society. The paper seeks to draw attention to the disciplinary and regulatory techniques to which they are subject in order to ensure that approaches employed to support homeless individuals have a clear, ethical and legitimate basis.
Originality/value
The research draws upon original data collected as part of a doctoral research project into wider experiences of unemployment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critique the role of homeless hostels in contemporary society, examining their role and legitimacy as sites of discipline and regulation of behaviors, ideas and aspirations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research draws upon in-depth qualitative interviews and supplementary observations undertaken in two homeless hostels in Stoke-on-Trent.
Findings
The research finds that even the most benign interventions enacted in homeless hostels are infused with disciplinary and regulatory techniques and suggests that the author needs to consider the legitimacy and efficacy of such approaches when seeking to understand the role of the hostel in assisting residents in (re)developing their autonomy.
Research limitations/implications
While there are legitimate reasons for the deployment of such techniques in some cases, legitimacy can be undermined where expectations go unmet or where developing residents’ and service user’s needs are not necessarily the main object of the interventions.
Practical implications
Hostel providers need to consider the ethicality and legitimacy of the interventions in place when seeking to help service users and residents to (re)develop their autonomy and ensure that efforts are focused in an effective and meaningful way.
Social implications
Homeless people are among the most vulnerable and excluded in society. The paper seeks to draw attention to the disciplinary and regulatory techniques to which they are subject in order to ensure that approaches employed to support homeless individuals have a clear, ethical and legitimate basis.
Originality/value
The research draws upon original data collected as part of a doctoral research project into wider experiences of unemployment.
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
What is platform governance?
an article by Robert Gorwa (University of Oxford, UK) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 22 Issue 6 (2019)
Abstract
Following a host of high-profile scandals, the political influence of platform companies (the global corporations that that operate online ‘platforms’ such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and many other online services) is slowly being re-evaluated.
Amidst growing calls to regulate these companies and make them more democratically accountable, and a host of policy interventions that are actively being pursued in Europe and beyond, a better understanding of how platform practices, policies, and affordances (in effect, how platforms govern) interact with the external political forces trying to shape those practices and policies is needed.
Building on digital media and communication scholarship as well as governance literature from political science and international relations, the aim of this article is to map an interdisciplinary research agenda for platform governance, a concept intended to capture the layers of governance relationships structuring interactions between key parties in today's platform society, including platform companies, users, advertisers, governments, and other political actors.
Abstract
Following a host of high-profile scandals, the political influence of platform companies (the global corporations that that operate online ‘platforms’ such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and many other online services) is slowly being re-evaluated.
Amidst growing calls to regulate these companies and make them more democratically accountable, and a host of policy interventions that are actively being pursued in Europe and beyond, a better understanding of how platform practices, policies, and affordances (in effect, how platforms govern) interact with the external political forces trying to shape those practices and policies is needed.
Building on digital media and communication scholarship as well as governance literature from political science and international relations, the aim of this article is to map an interdisciplinary research agenda for platform governance, a concept intended to capture the layers of governance relationships structuring interactions between key parties in today's platform society, including platform companies, users, advertisers, governments, and other political actors.
Thursday, 20 October 2016
Legal limits on political campaigning by charities: drawing the line
an article by Debra Morris (University of Liverpool, UK)
published in Voluntary Sector Review Volume 7 Number 1 (March 2016)
Abstract
The fear for charities of being on the wrong side of the law when it comes to campaigning has always been strong. Recent UK legislation on political campaigning has caused considerable consternation, bringing some difficult issues to the fore. This paper reviews recent evidence on legislation, referring to previous regulatory experience to put new developments in a clear context of charity and electoral law. It highlights ambiguities and suggests how further regulatory guidance might help.
Full text (PDF)
Abstract
The fear for charities of being on the wrong side of the law when it comes to campaigning has always been strong. Recent UK legislation on political campaigning has caused considerable consternation, bringing some difficult issues to the fore. This paper reviews recent evidence on legislation, referring to previous regulatory experience to put new developments in a clear context of charity and electoral law. It highlights ambiguities and suggests how further regulatory guidance might help.
Full text (PDF)
Thursday, 18 August 2016
Legal limits on political campaigning by charities: drawing the line
an article by Debra Morris (University of Liverpool, UK) published in Voluntary Sector Review Volume 7 Number 1 (March 2016)
Abstract
The fear for charities of being on the wrong side of the law when it comes to campaigning has always been strong. Recent UK legislation on political campaigning has caused considerable consternation, bringing some difficult issues to the fore.
This paper reviews recent evidence on legislation, referring to previous regulatory experience to put new developments in a clear context of charity and electoral law. It highlights ambiguities and suggests how further regulatory guidance might help.
Sorry, I can’t find a link to the full article not even for payment
Abstract
The fear for charities of being on the wrong side of the law when it comes to campaigning has always been strong. Recent UK legislation on political campaigning has caused considerable consternation, bringing some difficult issues to the fore.
This paper reviews recent evidence on legislation, referring to previous regulatory experience to put new developments in a clear context of charity and electoral law. It highlights ambiguities and suggests how further regulatory guidance might help.
Sorry, I can’t find a link to the full article not even for payment
Friday, 12 August 2016
Gaming the gamer? – The ethics of exploiting psychological research in video games
an article by Johnny Hartz Søraker (University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 14 Issue 2 (2016)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ethical implications of video game companies employing psychologists and using psychological research in game design.
Design/methodology/approach
The author first argues that exploiting psychology in video games may be more ethically problematic than familiar application domains like advertising, gambling and political rhetoric. Then an overview of the effects particular types of game design may have on user behavior is provided, taking into account various findings and phenomena from behavioral psychology and behavioral economics.
Findings
Finally, the author concludes that the corresponding ethical problems cannot – and should not – be addressed by means of regulation or rating systems. The author argues instead that a more promising countermeasure lies in using the same psychological research to educate gamers (children in particular) and thereby increase their capacity for meta-cognition.
Originality/value
The importance of this lies in the tremendous effect these behavior-modifying technologies may have upon our self-determination, well-being and social relations, as well as corresponding implications for the society.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ethical implications of video game companies employing psychologists and using psychological research in game design.
Design/methodology/approach
The author first argues that exploiting psychology in video games may be more ethically problematic than familiar application domains like advertising, gambling and political rhetoric. Then an overview of the effects particular types of game design may have on user behavior is provided, taking into account various findings and phenomena from behavioral psychology and behavioral economics.
Findings
Finally, the author concludes that the corresponding ethical problems cannot – and should not – be addressed by means of regulation or rating systems. The author argues instead that a more promising countermeasure lies in using the same psychological research to educate gamers (children in particular) and thereby increase their capacity for meta-cognition.
Originality/value
The importance of this lies in the tremendous effect these behavior-modifying technologies may have upon our self-determination, well-being and social relations, as well as corresponding implications for the society.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Does Affirmative Action Work? Evidence from the Operation of Fair Employment Legislation in Northern Ireland
an article by Raya Muttarak (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria), Heather Hamill and Anthony Heath (University of Oxford, UK) and Christopher McCrudden (Queen’s University Belfast, UK) published in Sociology Volume 47 Number 3 (June 2013)
Abstract
An affirmative action programme, established by the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, has been an important attempt to ensure ‘fair participation’ in employment for both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland since 1990.
The programme includes detailed monitoring of the community background of employees and requires employers to undertake remedial action where fair participation is not evident. Agreements were concluded between the regulatory agency and many employers specifying what affirmative action measures were required. Based on the annual monitoring returns submitted between 1990 and 2005, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the affirmative action programme in promoting fair employment participation using fixed effects models.
The analysis shows that there has been a general shift towards workforce integration in Northern Ireland but the increase of under-represented groups in agreement concerns is greater than in concerns with no agreement. The success of agreements, however, is limited to certain industrial sectors and medium-sized enterprises.
Abstract
An affirmative action programme, established by the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, has been an important attempt to ensure ‘fair participation’ in employment for both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland since 1990.
The programme includes detailed monitoring of the community background of employees and requires employers to undertake remedial action where fair participation is not evident. Agreements were concluded between the regulatory agency and many employers specifying what affirmative action measures were required. Based on the annual monitoring returns submitted between 1990 and 2005, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the affirmative action programme in promoting fair employment participation using fixed effects models.
The analysis shows that there has been a general shift towards workforce integration in Northern Ireland but the increase of under-represented groups in agreement concerns is greater than in concerns with no agreement. The success of agreements, however, is limited to certain industrial sectors and medium-sized enterprises.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
An independent review of British health and safety regulation? From common sense to non-sense
an article by Phil James (Oxford Brookes University, UK), Steve Tombs (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and David Whyte (University of Liverpool, UK) published in Policy Studies Volume 34 Issue 1 (2013)
Abstract
The view that regulatory provisions protecting the employment conditions of workers need to be minimised in order to protect the business needs of employers has been an ongoing theme in British governmental policy discourse over the past three decades.
For the present Coalition government, the assumption that current levels of regulation are unduly burdensome on employers and hence harmful to the economy has continued to be enthusiastically voiced, most notably in respect of the regulation of workplace health and safety.
Against this backcloth, this paper develops a critical examination of the conclusions of an ‘independent’ review of health and safety regulations commissioned by the present UK Government to shed light on the way in which a deregulatory policy agenda is being furthered.
The paper commences by locating the recent review of health and safety regulations, the ‘Löfstedt review’, in the context of other recent government initiatives aimed at alleviating the burden of health and safety regulation from the shoulders of employers.
It then moves on to outline the nature of this review and its main conclusions and recommendations, before considering in turn its use of evidence, deployment of the notion of ‘low risk’ and lack of attention to the issue of enforcement.
Finally, a concluding section draws together the key points to emerge from the preceding analysis and highlights how the Löfstedt review can be seen to form an integral part of a misleading deregulatory discourse that threatens to engender the wholesale undermining of workplace health and safety protections.
Abstract
The view that regulatory provisions protecting the employment conditions of workers need to be minimised in order to protect the business needs of employers has been an ongoing theme in British governmental policy discourse over the past three decades.
For the present Coalition government, the assumption that current levels of regulation are unduly burdensome on employers and hence harmful to the economy has continued to be enthusiastically voiced, most notably in respect of the regulation of workplace health and safety.
Against this backcloth, this paper develops a critical examination of the conclusions of an ‘independent’ review of health and safety regulations commissioned by the present UK Government to shed light on the way in which a deregulatory policy agenda is being furthered.
The paper commences by locating the recent review of health and safety regulations, the ‘Löfstedt review’, in the context of other recent government initiatives aimed at alleviating the burden of health and safety regulation from the shoulders of employers.
It then moves on to outline the nature of this review and its main conclusions and recommendations, before considering in turn its use of evidence, deployment of the notion of ‘low risk’ and lack of attention to the issue of enforcement.
Finally, a concluding section draws together the key points to emerge from the preceding analysis and highlights how the Löfstedt review can be seen to form an integral part of a misleading deregulatory discourse that threatens to engender the wholesale undermining of workplace health and safety protections.
Friday, 14 December 2012
The role of regulatory and temporal context in the construction of diversity discourses: The case of the UK, France and Germany
an article by Ahu Tatli (Queen Mary University of London, UK), Joana Vassilopoulou (Brunel University, UK), Akram Al Ariss (Groupe ESC Troyes, France) and Mustafa Özbilgin(Brunel University, UK and Université Paris-Dauphine, France) published in European Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 18 Number 4 (December 2012)
Abstract
Despite growing interest in how the concept of diversity management is reinterpreted as it crosses national boundaries, there has been little study of this process in Europe.
To bridge this knowledge gap, this article explores the construction of diversity discourses in the context of the UK, France and Germany. We use the discursive politics approach to investigate the ways in which the meaning of diversity is shrunk, bent and stretched.
We demonstrate that the concept of diversity has no universal fixed meaning but is contextual, contested and temporal. Temporarily fixed definitions and frames of diversity are path-dependent and shaped by the regulatory context.
Thus unique national histories and the context of regulation are key determinants of the ways in which the concept is redefined as it crosses national and regional borders.
Abstract
Despite growing interest in how the concept of diversity management is reinterpreted as it crosses national boundaries, there has been little study of this process in Europe.
To bridge this knowledge gap, this article explores the construction of diversity discourses in the context of the UK, France and Germany. We use the discursive politics approach to investigate the ways in which the meaning of diversity is shrunk, bent and stretched.
We demonstrate that the concept of diversity has no universal fixed meaning but is contextual, contested and temporal. Temporarily fixed definitions and frames of diversity are path-dependent and shaped by the regulatory context.
Thus unique national histories and the context of regulation are key determinants of the ways in which the concept is redefined as it crosses national and regional borders.
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Tracking Pay Equity: The Impact of Regulatory Change on the Dissemination and Sustainability of Equal Remuneration Decisions
an article by Julie Connolly, Tricia Rooney and Gillian Whitehouse (University of Queensland, Australia) published in Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 54 Number 2 (April 2012)
Abstract
While considerable attention has been paid to gains made in successful pay equity cases, there has been limited analysis of compliance with decisions and the maintenance of relative wage increases. This article examines the dissemination and sustainability of wage gains won under the auspices of Queensland’s ‘equal remuneration principle’ for dental assistants and childcare workers in 2005 and 2006, respectively, in the context of subsequent changes to the industrial relations framework in Australia.
It shows that while increases were initially disseminated effectively, albeit with some differences across jurisdictions in the context of Work Choices, longer-term maintenance is at risk with the full translation of these groups into the federal system under the Fair Work Act.
Our analysis underlines the importance of forms of collectivism within the industrial relations system, which facilitated the determination and dissemination of wage gains in spite of low levels of unionization and the absence of direct action among these award-reliant groups. However, we argue that this collectivism was insufficient to ensure the sustainability of equal remuneration gains in the face of jurisdictional changes and that the capacity for the types of collectivism supportive of pay equity under Modern Awards is yet to be determined.
Hazel’s comment:
Clearly a case of the law says you must, or must not, but if no-one is going to check compliance with the law then it might as well not be there!
Abstract
While considerable attention has been paid to gains made in successful pay equity cases, there has been limited analysis of compliance with decisions and the maintenance of relative wage increases. This article examines the dissemination and sustainability of wage gains won under the auspices of Queensland’s ‘equal remuneration principle’ for dental assistants and childcare workers in 2005 and 2006, respectively, in the context of subsequent changes to the industrial relations framework in Australia.
It shows that while increases were initially disseminated effectively, albeit with some differences across jurisdictions in the context of Work Choices, longer-term maintenance is at risk with the full translation of these groups into the federal system under the Fair Work Act.
Our analysis underlines the importance of forms of collectivism within the industrial relations system, which facilitated the determination and dissemination of wage gains in spite of low levels of unionization and the absence of direct action among these award-reliant groups. However, we argue that this collectivism was insufficient to ensure the sustainability of equal remuneration gains in the face of jurisdictional changes and that the capacity for the types of collectivism supportive of pay equity under Modern Awards is yet to be determined.
Hazel’s comment:
Clearly a case of the law says you must, or must not, but if no-one is going to check compliance with the law then it might as well not be there!
Thursday, 5 January 2012
A review of occupations regulation and its impact (Evidence report 40)
This report by John Forth et al for the UKCES maps the current pattern of occupational regulation in the UK, focusing on three forms of legal regulation (licensing, certification and registration) and one form of voluntary regulation (accreditation) that has no legal backing or state involvement.
It reviews the theory regarding the operation and impact of occupational regulation, and examines the existing evidence on the impacts of occupational regulation in the UK and abroad.
It also provides initial estimates of the impact of occupational regulation on labour market outcomes such as skill levels, wages and employment in the UK.
Full report (PDF 198pp)
Thanks to Skills Development Scotland for alerting me to this series of publications.
It reviews the theory regarding the operation and impact of occupational regulation, and examines the existing evidence on the impacts of occupational regulation in the UK and abroad.
It also provides initial estimates of the impact of occupational regulation on labour market outcomes such as skill levels, wages and employment in the UK.
Full report (PDF 198pp)
Thanks to Skills Development Scotland for alerting me to this series of publications.
Who Cares about Skills? …
The Impact and Limits of Statutory Regulation on Qualifications and Skills in Social Care
an article by Howard Gospel and Paul A Lewis (King's College London) published in British Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 19 Issue 4 (December 2011)
Abstract
This article examines the impact of statutory regulation on qualifications and skills in the social care sector in the UK. It draws on various sources and a set of case studies, first carried out in 2003 and replicated in 2008. The analysis shows that the advent of the statutory régime has had a positive effect on the volume of training and qualifications in the sector. However, few organisations have combined training with a broader set of human resource management practices of the kind required for the establishment of a high-performance work system. This constitutes one of the continuing limits to further skill development. Changes in the regulatory régime risk losing benefits that have been gained.
an article by Howard Gospel and Paul A Lewis (King's College London) published in British Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 19 Issue 4 (December 2011)
Abstract
This article examines the impact of statutory regulation on qualifications and skills in the social care sector in the UK. It draws on various sources and a set of case studies, first carried out in 2003 and replicated in 2008. The analysis shows that the advent of the statutory régime has had a positive effect on the volume of training and qualifications in the sector. However, few organisations have combined training with a broader set of human resource management practices of the kind required for the establishment of a high-performance work system. This constitutes one of the continuing limits to further skill development. Changes in the regulatory régime risk losing benefits that have been gained.
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