This paper contributes to the discussion about reforming the legislation governing real estate marketing in British Columbia. In March 2003, the government announced its proposals to amend the existing Real Estate Act with the objective of protecting the public and preserving its confidence in the real estate sector by providing a "least cost" regime, promoting competition among participants, and providing a flexible, accountable regulatory framework. Interested parties were invited to comment on a proposed direction for reform. A recent public opinion survey conducted by the British Columbia Real Estate Association indicated significant concern about realtors acting for both a purchaser and a vendor of the same property. Those with concerns feared possible conflicts of interest between realtors and their clients. Despite these results, the real estate industry did not address these concerns. Instead, the industry endorsed dual agency - the practice of acting for both a purchaser and a vendor in a single transaction - and claimed that to ensure professionalism for realtors, the industry had to be self-regulating. In May 2004, the government passed the Real Estate Services Act granting self-regulation to the industry. This paper questions the appropriateness of the government's grant of self-regulation to the industry. It reviews the literature on professionalism and the conditions under which it is appropriate to grant self-regulation to an occupational group. It discusses how the real estate industry has attempted to gain recognition as a profession and the problems that the practice of dual agency poses to consumers i f the industry is to be self-regulating. This paper concludes that the paramount purpose of occupational regulation should be to protect the public from harm, not to benefit or to reward practitioners. Self-regulation should only be granted to an occupational group with a genuine and demonstrated willingness to act in the public interest. Recommendations are offered to the government to reconsider its actions and to consider abolishing the practice of dual agency and adopting reforms that favour consumer interests in residential real estate transactions.

This thesis is concerned with the relationship between creditor/debtor law and broader political, economic, and social relations in Upper Canada before 1812. The research reviews the history of credit relations in early Upper Canada through a critical reassessment of both the historiographic debates and available primary legal and archival sources. Recent historical writing, in seeking out the community based nature of creditor/debtor relations has often tended to overlook the extent to which social, political, and economic conflicts were also played out in the arena of credit and debt. In early Upper Canada, matters relating to credit and debt were not infrequently the focus of conflicts about constitutionalism and the rights of colonial subjects. The thesis argues for a re-framing of the study of creditor/debtor relations to take account of the overall context of economic inequality. Feminist historical and theoretical work is drawn upon to expand conventional understandings of the economic, and to argue that local or communal based relations are not always consensual. The thesis draws a connection between social inequality, political repression, constitutional politics and the private law of property, credit, and debt. It asserts that early Upper Canadian creditor/ debtor relations were expressive of the struggle over the kinds of institutions that would represent the new polity, and of a sensibility among at least some portion of the population that the rule of law should apply to a wider range of people than those who made up the elite. It is found that the role of certain financial instruments and the contents of certain court records has been misunderstood. These findings change our understanding of the 1794 court reforms in Upper Canada, which established an English-style Court of King's Bench. It is also found that debtor/creditor law, in particular the seizure of land for debt in Upper Canada (a remedy that was not available in England) impacted upon the constitutional politics of the time.

Roughly 40 million American active and retired workers are covered by local, state or federal pension systems. The most recent financial crises has caused many of these pension systems to go up in flames, leaving politicians and economists puzzled as to where the money to pay off their future pension liabilities will come from. To add to the nightmare situation, we can expect the retirement of the baby-boomers over the next decade to exacerbate the conflagration. With less contributions coming in from the reduced number of active public employees, and more to pay out to retirees, many localities and states find themselves in the middle of the fire. This issue finds itself at the crossroads of politics, labor economics, accounting, and finance, and it will take a full-fledged effort from parties within all these fields to correct the mistakes of the past. The aim of this paper is to zero-in on the origins of this dilemma, diagnose the situation we find ourselves in today, and prescribe a solution or number of solutions to implement in the near future. To accomplish this, I will examine accounting standards, legislation, public policies, and labor demographics and attempt to provide insight as to how all of these affect the state of public pension plans. To this date we have already seen the effects pensions can have on governmental entities and it is important that people act now to prevent this issue from growing more widespread.

This paper discusses why the United States is need of international corporate tax reform. It argues that instead of the worldwide tax system it currently uses, the United States needs to transition to a territorial tax system.

It is widely believed that small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"), acting as a source of innovation and job creation, play a key role in the economy of Canada. / The legal framework which regulates SMEs' activities is vast. This thesis focuses on the legal framework and most important aspects of three critical areas: financing, taxation and international trade. / After describing and interpreting the legal framework of these areas and the information obtained from public and private institutions which are considered key in these issues, this thesis presents conclusions in relation to the question of how and in what way, if any, the current legislative and regulatory framework relating to SMEs contributes to the growth and prosperity of SMEs and to the importance of such a framework to SMEs' success and growth.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-130).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Business Administration. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-233). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNR11623

Exorbitant executive compensation packages have drawn large criticism from the public eye and with the recent financial crisis and the previous tech bubble opinion on executive incentives has forced government institutions to respond. Over the past two decades the SEC and FASB have aimed to respond to the public and with three large regulation changes in the 2000s, pay for performance compensation has gone through many changes. In this study I build on previous work in an attempt to answer whether or not executives within the Information Technology industry have seen a larger decline in option compensation when compared to executives outside of the industry. Previous studies have indicated that option use has been consistently higher in the IT industry and in addition another study has showed that option use across all companies has decreased dramatically due to regulation changes. In this study I find that option use has dramatically decreased over the past decade due to regulation and that option use in the IT industry has remained consistently higher than others. I find that there is little significant evidence suggesting regulation changes have affected the IT industry at a larger rate than others. I would argue that the industry is less sensitive to regulation changes regarding option use but I do find significant evidence that the industry has seen larger decreases in option use in 2013 when compared to other industries.

Orientador: Luiz Antônio Soares Hentz / Banca: Paulo Roberto Colombo Arnoldi / Banca: Gustavo Saad Diniz / Resumo: No final do século XIX, com a crise do liberalismo, o Estado passou a interferir na esfera econômica, antes legada à sorte do próprio mercado, inclusive através da criação de empresas estatais. Empresa Estatal é o gênero, do qual fazem parte as espécies empresas públicas, sociedades de economia mista e outras empresas que, não tendo as características da empresas públicas ou sociedades de economia mista, estão submetidas ao controle do Governo. Elas são pessoas jurídicas de direito privado que podem explorar atividade econômica ou prestar determinado serviço público. A recuperação judicial de empresas, inspirada da Reorganization do direito americano, foi introduzida no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro com a Lei nº11.101/2005, com o objetivo de permitir que empresas em situações de crise econômico-financeira possam ser saneadas e continuem em funcionamento, evitando a liquidação definitiva das mesmas. O art. 2º, inciso I, da Lei nº 11.101/2005 exclui as empresas estatais e sociedades de economia mista do seu âmbito de aplicação. Este dispositivo é inconstitucional, pois afronta a previsão do inciso II, do parágrafo 1º do art. 173 da Constituição Federal, que determina que as empresas públicas e sociedades de economia mista que exploram atividade econômica estejam sujeitas ao regime jurídico próprio das empresas privadas, inclusive quanto às obrigações comerciais. Assim, as sociedades de economia mista que exploram atividade econômica em regime de concorrência com a iniciativa privada podem se submeter à sistemática de recuperação de empresas prevista na Lei nº 11.101/2005. Para solucionar as incompatibilidades existentes entre a sistemática da Lei nº 11.101/2005 e as especificidades da sociedade de economia mista, deve ser criada uma lei específica para tratar do assunto / Abstract: In the late nineteenth century, with the crisis of liberalism, the state began to intervene in the economic sphere, the sort of legacy before the market itself, including through the establishment of state enterprises. State Company is the genus, the species which includes public companies, joint stock companies and other companies, not having the characteristics of public enterprises or joint stock companies, are subject to government control. They are legal entities under private law that can exploit economic activity or provide certain public service. The Reorganization of Companies, inspired by the Reorganization of American law, was introduced into the Brazilian legal system with the Law No. 11.101/2005, in order to allow companies in situations of economic or financial crisis can be reorganized and remain in operation, avoiding the final settlement thereof. Art. 2, paragraph I, of Law No. 11.101/2005 excludes state-owned enterprises and joint stock companies in its scope. This device is unconstitutional because it confronts the forecast section II, paragraph 1 of Art. 173 of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that public companies and joint stock companies that explore economic activity are subject to special legal regime of private companies, including as to business obligations. Thus, joint stock companies that explore economic activity in competition with the private sector can undergo systematic Corporate Recovery under Law No. 11.101/2005. To resolve the incompatibility between the systematics of Law No. 11.101/2005 and specificities of the society of mixed economy, there should be a specific law to address the issue / Mestre

This thesis examines how legal liability may be assessed in the case of an autonomous vehicle collision. It begins with a comprehensive discussion of autonomous vehicles: their defining features, a history of their development, and their current technological challenges. This paper later discusses the benefits of autonomous vehicles and why a new legal framework for their commercial production is necessary to realize these benefits. In doing so, it analyzes recent legislative efforts surrounding autonomous vehicles and their implications. Lastly, it utilizes the current product liability regime and precedent set by previous semi-autonomous vehicle collisions to suggest how liability may be determined in future legal suits.