It has been claimed that “The limited liability corporation is the greatest single discovery of modern times. Even steam and electricity are less important than the limited liability company” (N.M. Butler, President of Columbia University). Indeed,there is a near universal consensus that the companies' legislation developed in England and Wales between 1844 and 1856 represented a major change in business organisation with profound – and continuing - social and economic consequences. Despite this there has been relatively little analysis of the origins and effect of that companies legislation. This is surprising, not least in the light of the abundance of recent analysis of the theoretical foundations of the company. It represents a major weakness in both company law and economic scholarship with potentially serious consequences for those who seek to reform company law. This dissertation seeks to redress that weakness by investigating the extent to which the Joint Stock Companies Acts 1844 to 1856 and the values which shaped them were consistent with economic efficiency. The values which shaped the early development of company law were found to be broadly consistent with economic efficiency but contradictory, for example, not only laissez-faire but the desire for state intervention were important. Central appear to have been the minimisation of expense and/ or inconvenience, the fear of fraud and the need for transparency of information. Making an overall assessment of the efficiency of the 1844 to 1856 Acts themselves proved more difficult since there were found to be many provisions that were efficiency-enhancing and many which were not. Perhaps the most interesting single finding was that which contradicted claims noted at the outset that the limited liability corporation was “ ... the greatest single discovery of modern times ....”. Rather, from an economic perspective, the introduction of limited liability appears to have been the inevitable result of the muddled thinking behind the 1844 Act, which required urgent corrective action in the 1855 and 1856 Acts to protect risk-averse investors. Generally, the dissertation provides support for mainstream transaction cost economic analysis whilst casting doubt on the significance of other theories such as jurisdictional competition, regulatory capture and path dependency.

This thesis analyzes the location and size distribution of arts and entertainment industries in Sweden as well as the size distribution of Swedish labor market regions. Several sectors of the arts and entertainment industry are investigated empirically by comparing their location and overall capacity to the size of their respective markets and testing their conformity with the rank-size rule. The analyzed establishments are opera houses, football stadiums, concert performances and movie theaters. The results are brought in context with transportation cost, market size, subsidies and optimal firm size. In conclusion, most arts and entertainment industries tend to locate close to urban agglomerations, their distributions in general follow the distribution of the population as determined by the labor market regions. Exceptions occur when the identified market differs significantly from the general population or when large amounts of subsidies distort the natural distribution

<p>This thesis analyzes the location and size distribution of arts and entertainment industries in Sweden as well as the size distribution of Swedish labor market regions. Several sectors of the arts and entertainment industry are investigated empirically by comparing their location and overall capacity to the size of their respective markets and testing their conformity with the rank-size rule. The analyzed establishments are opera houses, football stadiums, concert performances and movie theaters. The results are brought in context with transportation cost, market size, subsidies and optimal firm size. In conclusion, most arts and entertainment industries tend to locate close to urban agglomerations, their distributions in general follow the distribution of the population as determined by the labor market regions. Exceptions occur when the identified market differs significantly from the general population or when large amounts of subsidies distort the natural distribution</p>

Thesis--Upsala. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-170).

This thesis concerns the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 2001, its effects on workers and implications for trade unions in Ireland. The legislation provides a means of resolving the substantive issues in dispute between workers and employers when employers refuse to recognise the trade union articulating those issues. It may also deal with procedural issues but may not provide for collective bargaining. In abeyance since 2007 due to legal challenges, and amid Government commitments to return the Act to its original intent, this thesis seeks to provide an evidence based response to the various calls for the Act’s amendment or replacement. A mixed methods approach contributed to an extensive examination of the cases taken under the Act: - Documentary analysis of all Labour Court Recommendations issued - A tracing of each workplace back to the union which referred the case - A survey of union officials currently or potentially responsible for the members at workplaces where cases had previously been taken - Interviews with union members, activists and staff in ten selected cases The Labour Court Recommendations, in complying with the terms of the Act, must and do accept non-union fora for the resolution of collective issues and effectively corral trade unions into individual representation, managing misbehaviour and exit. Focussing also on the aftermath of the Labour Court Recommendations afforded a unique understanding of the effects on workers and their trade unions; the effects of the process in addition to the effects of the written outcome. The research found that the majority of workplaces no longer have union members. Those still in membership display low levels of density and of activism and a distinct link is demonstrated between the union organising approach and such outcomes in each case. Those campaigns conducted with a greater emphasis on mobilisation or organising model techniques, where the referral under the 2001 Act was just one element in a broad campaign were more successful in achieving collective bargaining and better membership density and activism levels. The study recommends caution regarding sole reliance on the procedures provided by the Act.

Thesis--Berlin. / Cover title. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [96]-99).

The World Trade Organization was created to promote free trade and govern multilateral trade agreements as a fair and non-discriminating body. Literature on participation challenges this assumption of partiality and suggests the presence of a bias within the organization’s dispute settlement system. Previous studies have proven that the fear of retaliation is the most decisive factor when considering litigation. Other studies have suggested that sizeable expected benefits from dispute settlement have a greater impact on participation. Given the emergence of new members such as China, Ukraine and Taiwan these results are subject to change. In order to test the suggested hypotheses, a new dataset ranging from 2001-2010 was build to account for some of the changing trends in participation. While the results from the sector specific analysis failed to provide significant support for fear of retaliation, they showed evidence that expected returns motivate the initiation of litigations. Findings also suggest that members, heavily dependent on agriculture, are more likely to join agri-food cases as third parties. This study will provide, through the analysis of agri-food cases, valuable insights on the changes in the behavior of participants over the last decade.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Philip Mirowski for the Department of Economics. "July 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 280-297).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.