Does ESG Reporting Relate to Corporate Financial Performance in the Context of the Energy Sector Transformation? Evidence from Poland

This paper aims to investigate whether the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) score of companies operating in the energy sector is associated with their corporate financial performance (CFP). The research covered data from eight companies with a dominant position in the Polish energy sector. The research used the comparative analysis between ESG performance and accounting-based measures of profitability: return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA) and return on sales (ROS). Additionally, reference was also made to the DuPont model. The acquired results do not reveal repetitive dependencies that would facilitate the discovery of a pattern of the impact of the factors of ESG on the financial performance of enterprises. Despite indicating the cases of correlations between the ESG scores and CFP at a high level, indeed sometimes at a very high level, the particular case studies significantly differ from each other. This may be caused by the fact that Polish enterprises from the energy sector illustrate far-reaching specifics, among others, with regard to the key significance of the entities with a prevalent state ownership and strict administrative regulations, which are subject to the energy market, state of development and structure of the whole sector in Poland. Thus, this is also why the mechanisms or dependencies, whose existence it is possible to expect in conditions of free competition, may be weakened or even eliminated in Polish conditions.

The Bright Future of Democracy is in Education

Does democracy have a bright future? This brief paper addresses this question and argues, that, thanks to Prometheus, political “animals” can build a better-managed corral for their common living which includes a better provision of education for all “animals.” A historical analysis of the long past may be used to discern what lies ahead. Democracy requires education and virtue, or to put it in one word, it requires pedagogy. The higher the level of pedagogy, the closer a politeia would come to an ideal democracy. Sometimes democracy is confused with equality in everything. Political “animals” are not equal, and political systems which treat people with different abilities equally have no future. An ideal society should discriminate according to levels of education obtained and the acquisition of material wealth. If the politeia is ideal, then each citizen has the same opportunity to become more educated and wealthier. In this free competition of being educated and the acquisition of individually made material wealth, ideal societies can flourish as Hesiod postulated in the 8th Century BCE and become stable despite Polybius’ predictions in the 2nd-1st Century BCE of the inevitable historical cyclicality of political systems. Keywords: education, pedagogy, democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, ochlocracy, tyranny, ideal politeia, Polybius

Alois Rašin – czeski i czechosłowacki ekonomista. Przegląd wybranych koncepcji, poglądów i doświadczeń

Alois Rašín (1867-1923) was a Czech and Czechoslovak politician, economist, one of the founders of Czechoslovakia and its first finance minister. Alois Rašín is also the author of the first Czechoslovak law and the creator of the national currency, i.e. the Czechoslovak koruna. Rašín was a representative of conservative liberalism. The paper presents a review of Alois Rašín's concepts, views as the Minister of Finance of Czechoslovakia. Particular attention was paid to his efforts to regulate the currency and monetary system of Czechoslovakia, and to fight galloping inflation (hyperinflation). Rašín supported the free competition, believed in an entrepreneurial society, and believed that the state should strive to maintain a balanced budget.

Public Management of Railway Transport Development based on the Principles of a Systematic Approach

The article is devoted to scientific and applied research on the problem of the formation and implementation of a universal, efficient and effective public management system for the development of railway transport in the changing socio-economic and political conditions of Ukraine. The definition of the category “public management of railway transport” and the problems of the railway industry as a whole was clarified. A universal, efficient and effective system of public management for the development of railway transport has been formed, containing all the necessary aspects: entrance to the system, working subsystems, exit, external environment, feedback, as well as the components and elements that are part of them. It has been proven that entrance into the system is the defining management and organizational link of the entire system. The main directions of introduction and development of elements of working subsystems are analyzed. Proposals on operational and strategic directions of improvement of public management of railway industry development in the following areas are presented: improvement of legislative and regulatory framework; full separation of the functions of public administration from the economic functions of railway enterprises; the development and implementation of a new public tariff management system; development of a progressive approach to the organization and management of passenger transportation and the introduction of a public administration system in the international security. It was concluded that the effective operation of the developed system and the successful introduction of areas of improvement of public management for the development of the railway industry will achieve the following results: create conditions for the development of free competition in the industry; increase the competitiveness of the railway industry in Ukrainian and international markets; achieve the desired indicators of railway industry efficiency and innovation growth

The analysis of barriers to entry into the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine

The pharmaceutical market of Ukraine is characterized by a tendency to dominate imports over exports, which indicates its economic attractiveness for foreign companies that face various obstacles when entering the market. Entry barriers are understood as factors of an objective or subjective nature that prevent new firms from organizing profitable operations in the industry. The presence and impact of market barriers prove the need for their identification and comprehensive research. It has been established that when entering the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, there are restrictive barriers related to state policy (for example, licensing, registration of medicines, examination, certification, etc.), barriers due to competition, and barriers of a non-legal nature. The results of the analysis of the competitive situation as a possible barrier characterize the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine as a market of free competition, which contributes to the relatively free entry of foreign manufacturers. Market entry barriers are also caused by anti-competitive behavior such as mergers and acquisitions, unfair competition, informal agreements, and so on. The results of the research can be used in making decisions about entering new markets or market segments for pharmaceutical companies, in forming competitive advantages and business strategies in order to develop potential in the long term.

O DIREITO ANTITRUSTE BRASILEIRO E A REPRESSÃO À CONCORRÊNCIA ILÍCITA: FORMAÇÃO DE CARTÉIS E ACORDOS NA LEI 12.529/2011

The scope of this article is to study Competition Law and establish its conception in and for contemporaneity, based on which the Brazilian System for the Defense of Competition will be analyzed. Given its analytical and critical conception, the work is carried out according to the deductive method, without forgetting the use of the hermeneutic-dialectic approach. After analyzing some instruments considered adequate to repress cartelization, the study clarifies the nuances that permeate it from the perspective of the Competition Defense Law. Understood, in contemporary times, as an instrument for the implementation of public policies aimed at safeguarding free competition, the repression of the abuse of economic power and the pursuit of anti-competitive offenses, the Brazilian Antitrust Law structured a system of dual protection of competition - control of structures and conduct - and, by authorizing CADE to enter into agreements with infringing economic agents, it ensured the use of effective instruments for proving illegal practices, repression- punishment and prevention, especially with regard to cartels.

Ethnic Policy in Transbaikalia at the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries: Regional Nuances

The article is devoted to the regional peculiarities of ethnic policy having been analyzed on the example of Transbaikal region of Russian Empire. During the period under investigation it was a kind of national outlying district which lagged behind other Siberian territories in social-economic and cultural development. At the same time it was closely connected with foreign policy ambitions of the Empire which considered it as starting point for strengthening economic and political influence in Inner Asia. Geopolitical potential of the region and its unpreparedness to play the intended role defined ethnic policy mode. Frontier position of the region demanded the necessity of administrative system unification in order to provide unity of its indigenous population (Buryats) with Russian people. Nevertheless, insufficient flexibility in this issue caused protest movement growth and was the reason of region vulnerability against foreign threat. Transbaikalia economic reinforcing acceleration at last defined comparatively mild variant of relations arrangement with none-indigenous ethnic groups in spite of the exiled status and established opinion of their unreliability. Regional administration regarded them as promising colonization element, having high educational potential, as well as business experience in frames of free competition, local population having no such. This policy allowed former exiles to fit regional society organically and display their abilities to the full extent. The results obtained may be used while researching regions’ independence degree in decision making in ethnic issue and possibility of official course correction due to the status of the region and thus peculiarities of its development.

Sherman Act 1890: Modernization and Impact on Markets

The major purpose of the Sherman Act was to prevent mergers from forming monopolies. It ensures consumers are protected from price discrimination, and there is free competition. Several economists, classical economists, neoclassical economists, Chicago school and Harvard school, pointed out several antitrust laws. Classical economists led by Smith argued that monopolists set prices at higher prices and raise their charges higher through understocking the markets hence corporations and mergers should be prevented. Neoclassical economists developed a model which assumes that there are no barriers to entry whereby there is free entry to the market. Harvard school also advocated for free competition. Either, the Chicago school was against the idea of free competition and proposed some acts from the antitrust laws to be removed. However, with advancements in technology, the Sherman Act has become outdated and some languages used are held, making it a challenge to interpret in courts. There is a need for the antitrust laws to be reformed to fit the changing technology. Bills should be proposed to make improvements to the acts. For example, Klobuchar Amy, in April 2021, proposed a bill seeking to reform antitrust laws to better perfect competition in the American economy.

STILLBORN YET NOT WITHOUT INFLUENCE: WHAT MILL’S POLITICAL ECONOMY OWES TO HIS PROJECT OF ETHOLOGY

This article questions the articulation between John Stuart Mill’s initial project of creating a new science dedicated to the means of improving individual character, a science named “ethology,” and the treatise of political economy that he published instead. My claim is that his defense of free competition as well as some of the arguments he opposes to it, and which have often puzzled his readers, actually reveal the moral agenda of his political economy and of some of his political principles, specifically his ambivalent position towards paternalism.