Alternatives to Reparations in International Investment Arbitration– A Debate Between Theory and Practice

An analysis of the alternatives of compensation in relation to international investment disputes is relevant, because a pecuniary award is not always the appropriate remedy to solve disputes arising between investors and States. This is the case because States may be increasingly interested in opting for a different type of compensation. Furthermore, it is still not clear whether arbitral tribunals have recognised alternative types of awarding damages in respect of international investments disputes. This analysis comprises two principal components, the first, is to identify whether or not the tribunals may render an award that not only demands the payment of a sum of money but also considers some other means of compensation. The second, centres on how compliance with these non-pecuniary awards may be demanded. Our approach to these two principal components will always revolve around the idea of respecting the sovereignty of the State, bearing in mind that the execution of an arbitral award, which obliges the State to refrain from or to perform an act in its territory, relies precisely on the sovereignty of the State to execute it. 

The mutual agreement procedure and arbitration of double taxation disputes

It is in the interest of most states to eliminate double taxation (i.e. the payment of the same tax in two jurisdictions) of transnational commercial enterprises. Because such disputes involve, on the one hand, the state imposition of taxes, a right universally asserted by all states, and private entities on the other, taxation disputes between such parties are not, on their face, easily susceptible to arbitration. This article analyzes two dispute settlement procedures-the OECD First Model Tax Convention and a similar EU Convention-with the exclusive focus on disputes relating to the imposition of double taxation. It will look at the ways in which state roles may vary under these procedures from assisting in the negotiation process to taking a part similar to, but with important differences from, diplomatic protection on behalf of an affected enterprise. The article will examine the situations under which the settlement procedure is required and/or available, how the procedures are triggered, the obligations and parts played by the parties, the means by which the disputes are resolved (from negotiations to tribunals) and the limitations of the procedures. Are they “taxpayer friendly”? As a result the reader may draw comparisons between the two procedures. Finally, the article will look at the proposed OECD Arbitration Clause which is intended to be incorporated into Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention as well as how these mechanisms relate and/or conflict with bilateral tax treaties and the GATS.

An approximation to the informal-formal wage gap in Colombia 2008-2012

This document provides recent evidence about the persistency of wage gaps between formal and informal workers in Colombia by using a non-parametric method proposed by Ñopo (2008a). Over a rich dataset at a household level during 2008-2012, it is found that formal workers earn between 30 to 60 percent more, on average, than informal workers. Despite of the formality definition - structuralist or institucionalist- adopted, it is clear that formal workers have more economic advantages than informal ones, but after controlling by demographic and labor variables an important fraction of the gap still remains unexplained.

Is there a motherhood penalty? decomposing the family wage gap in Colombia

The aim of this paper is to provide an estimation and decomposition of the motherhood wage penalty in Colombia. Our empirical strategy was based on the matching procedure designed by Ñopo (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(2), 290–299, 2008a ) for the case of gender wage gaps. This is an alternative procedure to the well-known Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method. Using the cross-sectional data of the Colombian Living Standard Survey, the wage gap was decomposed into four components, according to the characteristics of mothers and non-mothers. Three of the components are explained by differences in observable characteristics of women, while the other is the unexplained part of the gap. We found that mothers earn, on average, 1.73 % less than their counterparts without children and that this gap slightly decreased when the group included older women. It is observed from the results that, once schooling was included as a matching variable, the unexplained part of the gap considerably decreased and became non-significant. Thus, we did not find evidence of wage discrimination against mothers in the Colombian labor market. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Causes of the wage effects of job-worker mismatches : an international comparison. 'Causas de los efectos salariales del desajuste entre trabajador y empleo : una comparación internacional'.

Se analiza, en el ámbito del mercado de trabajo, la adecuación existente entre la cualificación de los trabajadores y aquella que es requerida en sus puestos de trabajo. Habitualmente, la literatura especializada aproxima la educación formal a la cualificación, pese a que la educación formal no proporciona todas las competencias de capital humano que poseen los trabajadores y que requieren sus empleos. Por ello, siendo conscientes de la limitación que supone la utilización de la educación formal como medida de la cualificación, se analiza de forma diferenciada dos fenómenos que tienen lugar en el mercado de trabajo: el ajuste educativo y el ajuste en cualificación.