Browsing by Subject "EU"
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Item Beyond the spectrum : understanding Czech Euroscepticism outside left-right classification(2017-05) O'Dowd, Kathryn Quinn; Wellhausen, Rachel L.Commonly known as Euroscepticism, critical views of the European Union have grown significantly in the thirteen years since the Czech Republic joined the EU. Especially in light of the United Kingdom’s recent vote to leave the EU, it is imperative that we understand Euroscepticism across member-states. The Czech Republic is an important place to contextualize Euroscepticism due to its history as a post-communist state. Euroscepticism occurs both on the left and right ends of the political spectrum in the Czech Republic, as such there needs to be a more holistic picture of the factors that influence adoption of a Eurosceptic platform. This study looks at factors beyond a party’s position on the left-right spectrum—such as party age, level of education, and urban/rural divide—in an effort to better understand which parties in the Czech Republic are the most likely to develop Eurosceptic platforms. While rural and less educated citizens are more likely to be Eurosceptic, party elites tend to overrule popular opinions in the development of party platforms. Age of the party, however, has a strong correlation with a party’s likelihood of being Eurosceptic. Newer parties are more likely than older ones of adopting Eurosceptic platforms, thus presents strong evidence for the growing permanence of Euroscepticism within the Czech party system.Item Differences in ESG Investing in the EU and the United States: A qualitative investigation into factors and forces that created vastly different ESG markets(2023-05) DSouza, SeannESG, a framework to consider and evaluate companies and investments, has become something of a major development within the financial industry in the past five years. Two major financial regions of the world that have similar financial innovations and adopt similar practices, the United States and the European Union, have adopted and integrated ESG investing to varying degrees. In fact, the EU ESG market is substantially larger, more regulated, less controversial, and more common than the US ESG market. The first task of this paper is to examine the sizes and demand for the respective ESG markets of the EU and the US. Secondly, to evaluate the belief and perspectives in climate change that individuals in the EU and the US have. Next, I will discuss the factors of determination that impact climate change belief and further analyze how they could affect integration of ESG within the EU and the US. The last task of the paper is to evaluate the regulatory or legal distinctions that allow for ESG integration to increase among the general public and/or institutions. I will then provide a conclusion that talks about the importance of minimizing factors that could limit ESG investing development within the EU and the U.S.Item In Transition: The Climate Case for Eastern Europe(2019-12) Ivanova, ElenaClimate change continues to garner global attention as countries attempt to transition to renewable energy consumption and away from fossil fuel use. This thesis examines the climate change policies that have been enforced in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine - three ex-communist countries that worked to adopt more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards while simultaneously transforming their economic infrastructure. While these countries are all located in (South) Eastern Europe, they each face unique barriers to meeting global emission targets. These barriers include varying levels of public support, government assistance, resource availability, and renewable energy potential. In this thesis, I examine how international agreements and multilateral cooperation have expedited the implementation of carbon emission reduction measures. These agreements encompass broad pledges of support such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Accords, as well as various European Union policies and requirements. Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine have had various levels of success when it comes to securing international support for their climate-related goals, and government corruption and instability have contributed to a diversion of funds dedicated to renewable energy investments. I find that the effects of international factors outweigh those of domestic politics, namely public opinion, on environmental policy.Item The Sustainability Of The Euro: Past, Present, And Future(2019-05-01) Ram, Adhvaith; Jensen, NathanThe eurozone is a monetary union comprised of 19 European Union member states that share a currency called the euro. To understand whether or not the eurozone is sustainable, we must first understand the previous major developments of the euro. Thefirst section will provide background on domestic motivations and sentiment towards the euro beginning in the time period before the introduction of the euro as a currency unitand highlight the resulting incomplete institutions and divergence from optimal currency area. Next, the second section will discusshow the unsustainable pre-crisis construction of the eurozone highlighted these shortcomings. To provide background, a brief narrative describing the events, causes, and effects of the crisis will be provided. Economic theories that justified the incomplete structure of the eurozone are critically analyzed and additional construction faults are uncovered to consider the feasibility of the eurozone in its crisis-era state. Additionally, the causes and effects of austerity, a devastating and ineffective strategy that attempted to remediate the issues of euro-area countries, are discussed and extrapolated to determine future issues the eurozone may face. The central role of the European Central Bank in the crisis is considered through the lens of its actions and inactions to understand the influences on the Bank and the conflicting visions for the eurozone’s future. Finally, in the last section, a judgement of implemented emergency measures and the eurozone’s current and future growth and debt prospects will be contrasted with required solutions needed to make the eurozone sustainable. Ultimately, the reason for the lack of collective willingness to implement needed measures is unearthed to determine that the eurozone is not sustainable as is. A deeper comparison of the unique problems that two large countries in opposite camps face will highlight additional struggles the eurozone bloc will have to overcome.