Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. Th... more Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. The sceptics believe that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not vote in a disciplined way and that they vote more often with their country group than with their European Party. Using a unique database consisting of all roll call votes by each individual MEP between 1989 and 1999 (over 6000 votes by over 1000 different MEPs), we show that the sceptics are wrong. Our data shows clearly that MEPs vote more along party lines than along country lines. Party cohesion is comparable to that of the US Congress and is increasing over time whereas country cohesion is low and declining. In short, politics in the European Parliament generally follows the traditional left-right divide that one finds in all European nations. These findings are valid across issues, even on issues like the structural and cohesion funds where one would expect country rather than party cohesion. In votes where the...
This paper attempts to draw a synthetic picture of corporate governance in transition with emphas... more This paper attempts to draw a synthetic picture of corporate governance in transition with emphasis on the efficiency implications of corporate governance, taking into account a) the heterogeneity of managerial skills, b) the diversity of restructuring tasks and financial situations of firms and c) political constraints. The focus is on the efficiency effects generated by the different kinds of privatization policies. A special emphasis is put on the broad dynamic effects of privatization. It is argued that different privatization policies have different effects on the distribution of economic power in society, with possible far-reaching consequences in terms of state capture, level of law enforcement, tax collection, underdevelopment of financial markets and of the private sector. In particular, it is argued that the development of legal reform is not an exogenous but an endogenous process influenced by the vested interests created by the initial privatization policy. ∗ Paper prepa...
Russian policies have little appeal unless Europe looks like a failure; the Kremlin funds EU-skep... more Russian policies have little appeal unless Europe looks like a failure; the Kremlin funds EU-skeptics in politics, media and academia across the continent
Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. Th... more Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. The sceptics believe that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not vote in a disciplined way and that they vote more often with their country group than with their European Party. Using a unique database consisting of all roll call votes by each individual MEP between 1989 and 1999 (over 6000 votes by over 1000 different MEPs), we show that the sceptics are wrong. Our data shows clearly that MEPs vote more along party lines than along country lines. Party cohesion is comparable to that of the US Congress and is increasing over time whereas country cohesion is low and declining. In short, politics in the European Parliament generally follows the traditional left-right divide that one finds in all European nations. These findings are valid across issues, even on issues like the structural and cohesion funds where one would expect country rather than party cohesion. In votes where the...
This paper attempts to draw a synthetic picture of corporate governance in transition with emphas... more This paper attempts to draw a synthetic picture of corporate governance in transition with emphasis on the efficiency implications of corporate governance, taking into account a) the heterogeneity of managerial skills, b) the diversity of restructuring tasks and financial situations of firms and c) political constraints. The focus is on the efficiency effects generated by the different kinds of privatization policies. A special emphasis is put on the broad dynamic effects of privatization. It is argued that different privatization policies have different effects on the distribution of economic power in society, with possible far-reaching consequences in terms of state capture, level of law enforcement, tax collection, underdevelopment of financial markets and of the private sector. In particular, it is argued that the development of legal reform is not an exogenous but an endogenous process influenced by the vested interests created by the initial privatization policy. ∗ Paper prepa...
Russian policies have little appeal unless Europe looks like a failure; the Kremlin funds EU-skep... more Russian policies have little appeal unless Europe looks like a failure; the Kremlin funds EU-skeptics in politics, media and academia across the continent
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Papers by Gerard Roland