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Consumer Protection (consumer + protection)
Selected AbstractsColston E. Warne Lecture: Is It Time for Another Round of Consumer Protection?JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2010The Lessons of Twentieth-Century U.S. History The first year of Barack Obama's presidency has returned consumer issues to center stage, with several contentious struggles over consumer protection. This moment can be viewed as a fourth wave of the twentieth-century consumer movement, and a comparison with the first three waves (during the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the 1960s,1970s) offers instructive insights. In particular, the contemporary battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bears striking similarities to the failed campaign for a Consumer Protection Agency in the 1970s. [source] Regulatory Disclosure of Offending Companies in the Dutch Financial Market: Consumer Protection or Enforcement Publicity?LAW & POLICY, Issue 4 2010JUDITH VAN ERP Regulatory disclosure of names of offending companies is increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional command and control regulation. The goals and intended effects of disclosure are not always clear, however. Do regulators wish to increase their transparency, or do they intend to name and shame? This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the underlying working mechanism of regulatory disclosure of offenders' names through a case study of the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets' disclosure policy. It distinguishes two types of disclosure strategies: consumer oriented and firm oriented. The case study shows that although informing consumers was the primary purpose of disclosure as intended by the Dutch legislature, the purpose in practice has shifted to informing companies about the regulators' enforcement policy. The nature of the disclosed information makes it unlikely that disclosure adequately prevents financial risk taking by consumers. Instead of empowering consumers, disclosure has been incorporated in a traditional deterrence logic, turning out not to be an example of new governance but instead a modern version of command and control enforcement publicity. [source] The Regulatory State and Turkish Banking Reforms in the Age of Post-Washington ConsensusDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2010Caner Bakir ABSTRACT The new era of the Post-Washington Consensus (PWC), promoted under the auspices of International Financial Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, centres on the need to develop sound financial regulation and strong regulatory institutions, especially in the realm of banking and finance in post-financial crisis developing countries. This article uses an examination of the Turkish banking sector experience with the PWC in the aftermath of the 2001 financial crisis to show its considerable strengths and weaknesses. The authors argue that the emergent regulatory state in the bank-based financial system has a narrow focus on strengthening prudential regulation, whilst ignoring the increased ,financialization' of the Turkish economy. They identify the positive features of the new era of the PWC in terms of prudential regulation, which has become much more robust in its ability to withstand external shocks. At the same time, however, the article highlights some of the limitations of the new era which resemble the limitations of the PWC. These include the distributional impact of the regulatory reforms within the banking sector, and notably the emergence of foreign banks as the major beneficiaries of this process; weaknesses in promoting productive bank intermediation that finance the real economy and economic growth, leading to poverty reduction via growth of employment whilst stimulating financialization within the economy; and finally, the exclusive focus on prudential regulation, whilst ignoring regulatory costs, consumer protection and competition regulation. [source] Equity-Based, Asset-Based and Asset-Backed Transactional Structures in Shari'a -Compliant Financing: Reflections on the Current Financial Crisis,ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 3 2009Razi Pahlavi Abdul Aziz F33; G21; P45; P49 This paper presents interest-free equity-based, asset-based and asset-backed transactional structures endorsed by Shari'a -compliant finance. These structures could explain the potential and relative insulation, yet not immunity, of Islamic financial institutions from the financial crisis. Although Shari'a -compliant financing cannot solve the current financial crisis, the recovering market could consider incorporating some of the insulating principles underlying Shari'a -compliant financing and securitization products, as exemplified in the sample of Shari'a -compliant products in this paper, so as to offer better consumer protection. [source] Thalidomide, BSE and the single market: An historical-institutionalist approach to regulatory regimes in the European UnionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007SEBASTIAN KRAPOHL In the last decade, the regulatory regime for pharmaceuticals has functioned without raising public concerns. The establishment of a European agency for pharmaceuticals in the early 1990s has been evaluated positively by both producers and consumers, and there have been no large scandals so far. At the same time, the food sector was subject to a whole range of crises, of which the BSE scandal was certainly the most significant one. In reaction to this, the regulatory regime for foodstuffs was reformed by setting up the European Food Safety Agency in 2002. This article adopts an historical-institutionalist approach, and thus tries to give an explanation for the striking differences between the two regulatory regimes. Accordingly, the development of supranational regulatory regimes is distinguished by two critical junctures: a crisis of consumer confidence and the establishment of a single market. It is crucial which of these occurred first. If a crisis of consumer confidence leads to the establishment of national regulatory authorities, these authorities act as stakeholders, which could be an obstacle for harmonization, but also ensures a necessary commitment to health and consumer protection once a single market is set up. If national regulatory authorities are missing, it might be easier to set up a single market, but a regulatory deficit is more likely to occur and, in case of a crisis, the whole regulatory regime has to be established at the supranational level. [source] Credible Commitment in Non-Independent Regulatory Agencies: A Comparative Analysis of the European Agencies for Pharmaceuticals and FoodstuffsEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2004Sebastian Krapohl Usually, these agencies evolve from EU committees and take over most of their structures. Accordingly, like most EU committees and the Commission, regulatory agencies are not independent, but act under the control of the member states. The question is, how far do they indicate a credible commitment of the Member States to long-term policy goals like health and consumer protection. This article compares the institutional structures and decision-making rules of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products and of the newly established European Food Safety Authority, in order to clarify the extent of credible commitment that the Member States show through the setting-up of these agencies. It concludes that the commitment of the Member States in the foodstuff sector is not as deep as in the pharmaceutical sector, and that the creation of the European Food Safety Authority will not lead to a success story similar to that of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. [source] Banishing Bureaucracy or Hatching a Hybrid?GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2000The CanadianFood Inspection Agency, the Politics of Reinventing Government The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is a means to overcoming long-standing bureaucratic politics while attaining some major policy ends.Contrary to some of the new public management bravado of transforming the public sector, the CFIA is not a bureaucratic revolution in reshaping the Canadian State. Changes in scientific staffing, funding, and inspection have been more incremental than fundamental. Moreover, the CFIA is something less than the special and separate operating agency models discussed in the alternative service delivery literature in terms of autonomy and market orientation, but something more autonomous and entrepreneurial than traditional government departments. These organizational and managerial reforms are modest extensions providing a means for achieving economies and enhanced effectiveness in carrying out the mandate of safety, consumer protection, and market access for Canadian food, animal, plant, and forestry products. [source] Warnings in manufacturing: Improving hazard-mitigation messaging through audience analysisHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 6 2010Richard C. Goldsworthy Abstract Hazard mitigation, including warning development, validation, and dissemination, is an important aspect of product safety and workplace and consumer protection. Understanding our audiences,workers and consumers,is an especially important, often overlooked, aspect of risk and harm reduction efforts. In this article, particular attention is paid to audience analysis in hazard communication and warning messaging, with a focus on the potential role of latent class analysis (LCA). We provide an example of using LCA to analyze a hazardous behavior: prescription medicine sharing and borrowing. Four distinct groups of people,ranging from abstainers to at-risk sharers,are identified and discussed. Building better warnings and risk communication techniques is essential to promoting occupational and consumer safety. Audience analysis is a vital component of these efforts. LCA appears to be a worthwhile addition to our analytical toolbox by allowing risk reduction and hazard-mitigation efforts to tailor interventions to a diverse target audience. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Online shoppers in Australia: dealing with problemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2008Huong Ha Abstract Although the Internet is a convenient platform to conduct commercial transactions, consumers are disadvantaged in the online marketplace due to insufficient information about goods and services as well as business and transaction process, lack of access to redress and several other problems. The number of complaints regarding online transactions increased in Australia from 2001 to 2005, and the number of Internet-fraud related complaints reported to Consumer Sentinel (USA) also increased from 2003 to 2006. This, in turn, has undermined consumer trust and impeded the growth of e-retailing as well as added to the fear among e-consumers of falling prey to online fraud. In spite of this, the nature and effectiveness of e-consumer protection has not been adequately studied, notwithstanding extensive research into other aspects of e-retailing. This article examines (i) the level of awareness of the respondents in the survey in Australia of the current policy framework for addressing consumer protection about online shopping in terms of redress; and (ii) the behaviour of the two groups of respondents in this survey who have and have not encountered problems with online purchases. The findings suggest that most respondents are not aware of the following issues, namely (i) which organizations are involved in e-consumer protection; (ii) government regulations and guidelines; (iii) industry codes of conduct; (iv) self-regulatory approaches adopted by business; and (v) the activities of consumer associations to protect consumers in the online marketplace. The findings also show that most respondents would seek redress if they were unhappy with their online purchases and if they knew how to proceed, and that most of them would settle disputes directly with e-retailers. Also, online shoppers who had encountered problems were more likely to continue purchasing via the Internet than online shoppers who had not encountered any problems. This suggests that respondents find that the benefits offered by e-retailing outweigh the risks associated with it. [source] Private certification schemes as consumer protection: a viable supplement to regulation in Europe?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 6 2007Cristina PoncibòArticle first published online: 16 AUG 200 Abstract In the European single market, most product certification schemes are privately organized. This paper considers the goals and pitfalls of private certification as a form of market-based and multi-stakeholder consumer protection that relies on the transparency of information and the possibility of consumers choosing accordingly with their preferences. [source] Experience, change and vulnerability: consumer education for older people revisitedINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2002Phil Lyon Abstract Everyday consumer transactions have the same potential for unexpected consequence whatever the age of the consumers involved. Young and old alike can find that products and services fail to live up to performance claims and that they are left with problems not easily resolved, or costs that are difficult to recover. While not overlooking consumer heterogeneity , especially on the basis of age , older consumers are arguably distinguishable in terms of the social and financial context in which they make decisions and attempt to redress problems. In 1988, attention was drawn to the need for consumer education to look beyond generic objectives to the specific situation of older people and their transactions. More than a decade later, in an allegedly consumer-oriented society, the issue is revisited here to assess the argument's current relevance. Despite the increased availability of information for decisions and consumer protection, difficulties persist in the way information is presented or accessed. Chameleon-like, old problems become manifest in new unfamiliar ways and invalidate experience. Consumer education today is as important as it was in 1988. Arguably, technological change means that the need for a better understanding of dangers, rights and redress procedures is greater than ever and the needs of older people in increasingly complex private and public sector transaction environments are all the more pressing. However, a fundamental revision of the way we approach the design of products, services and environments is needed to improve prospects for older consumers. [source] OECD Efforts to Address the Measurement and Policy Challenges Posed by the Information SocietyINTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2003Andrew W. Wyckoff Summary The OECD has acted as a forum for the discussion of policies regarding the information society for over 20-years, producing guidelines and recommendations in areas such as privacy of personal information, computer security, cryptography, regulatory reform of communications, and most recently on-line consumer protection and the taxation of e-commerce. By and large, this work was undertaken without the benefit of statistical measures. But the economic performance of a number of OECD Member countries during the 1990s underscores that the policy challenges being posed by the information society are increasingly economic in nature,how ICT is affecting productivity, growth rates, inflation, labour markets etc.,necessitating the need for statistically rigorous data. This paper outlines how recent efforts by national statistical offices to improve this situation have allowed researchers to gain new insight into the economic impact associated with ICTs and applications like e-commerce, leading to a number of policy recommendations as to how best to exploit the economic potential of these technologies. The paper ends by outlining important policy issues that require new statistical efforts. Résumé L'OCDE offre aux gouvernements depuis plus de 20 ans un cadre de discussion sur les questions liées à la société de l'Information et propose des lignes directrices ainsi que des recommandations sur des sujets tels que la vie privée et l'informatique, la sécurité informatique, la cryptographie, la réforme réglementaire en matière de communications et, plus récemment, la protection des consommateurs en-ligne et la fiscalité en matière de commerce électronique. Jusqu'ici, ce travail a été plus ou moins accompli sans le bénéfice d'études statistiques approfondies. Cependant, à en juger des performances économiques d'un certain nombre de pays membres de l'OCDE au cours des années 90, il est évident que les problèmes auxquels est confrontée la société de l'Information ont un caractère de plus en plus économique,l'impact des technologies de l'information et des communications sur la productivité, les taux de croissance, l'inflation, le marché de l'emploi, etc.,et nécessitent des statistiques fiables. Le présent document explique comment les offices nationaux des statistiques ont contribué par leurs efforts à améliorer la situation en donnant aux chercheurs les moyens de mieux comprendre l'impact des technologies de l'information et des communications (TIC), notamment du commerce électronique, sur l'économie. Enfin, ce travail a abouti à un certain nombre de recommandations sur la meilleure façon pour les pouvoirs publics d'exploiter le potentiel économique de ces technologies. La dernière partie du document met en exergue des problèmes importants liés à la politique économique qui nécessitent de nouveaux efforts en matière de statistiques. [source] Colston E. Warne Lecture: Is It Time for Another Round of Consumer Protection?JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2010The Lessons of Twentieth-Century U.S. History The first year of Barack Obama's presidency has returned consumer issues to center stage, with several contentious struggles over consumer protection. This moment can be viewed as a fourth wave of the twentieth-century consumer movement, and a comparison with the first three waves (during the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the 1960s,1970s) offers instructive insights. In particular, the contemporary battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bears striking similarities to the failed campaign for a Consumer Protection Agency in the 1970s. [source] Food safety performance in European union accession countries: Benchmarking the fresh produce import sector in HungaryAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006Marian Garcia Martinez Countries that accede to the European Union face a complex and urgent task to adopt and implement the Acquis Communautaire on food safety. For the food industries in such countries, this implies that the European Union's standards of food production and processing, food quality and safety have to be met to ensure a high level of consumer protection and satisfaction. The authors assess the level of food safety performance in one accession country, Hungary, in one food sector (the fresh produce importing chain), and evaluate the capacity of the system to demonstrate quality assurance to the satisfaction of private customers and public regulators. The analysis of food safety performance has been undertaken through gap analysis using a novel application of a benchmarking methodology taking the United Kingdom fresh produce importing chain as the benchmark. The insights are relevant to other accession countries and to other candidate countries for European Union enlargement. [EconLit Classifications: Q130, Q180]. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 69,89, 2006. [source] Risk of first-generation H1 -antihistamines: a GA2LEN position paperALLERGY, Issue 4 2010M. K. Church To cite this article: Church MK, Maurer M, Simons FER, Bindslev-Jensen C, van Cauwenberge P, Bousquet J, Holgate ST, Zuberbier T. Risk of first-generation H1 -antihistamines: a GA2LEN position paper. Allergy 2010; 65: 459,466. Abstract Background: First-generation H1 -antihistamines obtained without prescription are the most frequent form of self-medication for allergic diseases, coughs and colds and insomnia even though they have potentially dangerous unwanted effects which are not recognized by the general public. Aims:, To increase consumer protection by bringing to the attention of regulatory authorities, physicians and the general public the potential dangers of the indiscriminate use first-generation H1 -antihistamines purchased over-the counter in the absence of appropriate medical supervision. Methods:, A GA2LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network) task force assessed the unwanted side-effects and potential dangers of first-generation H1-antihistamines by reviewing the literature (Medline and Embase) and performing a media audit of US coverage from 1996 to 2008 of accidents and fatal adverse events in which these drugs were implicated. Results:, First-generation H1 -antihistamines, all of which are sedating, are generally regarded as safe by laypersons and healthcare professionals because of their long-standing use. However, they reduce rapid eye movement (REM)-sleep, impair learning and reduce work efficiency. They are implicated in civil aviation, motor vehicle and boating accidents, deaths as a result of accidental or intentional overdosing in infants and young children and suicide in teenagers and adults. Some exhibit cardiotoxicity in overdose. Conclusions:, This review raises the issue of better consumer protection by recommending that older first-generation H1 -antihistamines should no longer be available over-the-counter as prescription- free drugs for self-medication of allergic and other diseases now that newer second- generation nonsedating H1 -antihistamines with superior risk/benefit ratios are widely available at competitive prices. [source] Telecommunications Reforms In MalaysiaANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2002C. Lee The article examines the range and scope of physical and structural changes that have taken place in the telecommunications sector in Malaysia in the past 15 years. It reviews the main policy reforms that have shaped the sector, including corporatization and privatization, and liberalization in fixed line and cellular services. The article documents the increase in competition, particularly in the cellular phone service market. Major regulatory reforms were introduced in the 1990s with the passage of the Communications and Multimedia Act and the establishment of the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission. The key principles for regulating the sector are reviewed, including those directed towards economic regulation and consumer protection. With the absence of a formal competition law in Malaysia, the onus for addressing competition issues in the telecommunications sector rests with the sectoral regulator. [source] Product Safety Provision and Consumers' InformationAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 4 2000Stephan Marette Economic mechanisms related to the provision of product safety are explored, with particular attention paid to the structure of consumers' information. The case of perfect information, of experience goods (for which consumers detect product safety after consumption) and of credence goods (where consumers cannot link a disease to a particular product consumed in the past) are explored. Imperfect competition is assumed in the supply sector. In the case of both perfect information and experience goods, market equilibrium is characterised by a less-than-socially optimal provision of safety, when the safety effort is costly. With credence goods, imperfect information leads to the absence of safety effort and to a market closure. Different types of public regulation aiming at increasing consumer protection and circumventing market failures are explored. Particular attention is paid to minimum safety standards, labels and liability enforcement. The relative efficiency of these instruments depends on the information structure. In the cases of perfect information and experience goods, a minimum safety standard can be an efficient instrument. Regulation is necessary but not sufficient to avoid market failure in the case of credence goods. [source] The Managed Care Backlash: Perceptions and Rhetoric in Health Care Policy and the Potential for Health Care ReformTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2001David Mechanic The focus on managed care and the managed care backlash divert attention from more important national health issues, such as insurance coverage and quality of care. The ongoing public debate often does not accurately convey the key issues or the relevant evidence. Important perceptions of reduced encounter time with physicians, limitations on physicians' ability to communicate options to patients, and blocked access to inpatient care, among others, are either incorrect or exaggerated. The public backlash reflects a lack of trust resulting from cost constraints, explicit rationing, and media coverage. Inevitable errors are now readily attributed to managed care practices and organizations. Some procedural consumer protections may help restore the eroding trust and refocus public discussion on more central issues. [source] THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FORM IN THE MIXED MARKET FOR FOSTER CAREANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Jeremy Thornton ABSTRACT,:,This paper uses proprietary quality of care data to examine the consequences of organizational form in privatized US foster care services. The contract failure hypothesis generically proposes that nonprofits should provide higher quality services, relative to for-profits, when output is costly to observe. Advocates argue that the nonprofits offer important consumer protections when public services are contracted to private agencies. Contrary to expectations, we find that nonprofit firms do not offer higher quality services. We explore the possibility that monitoring efforts by state regulators or competition among foster care agencies effectively mitigate the influence of organizational form in this particular mixed market. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||