The concept of equity-based crowdfunding (ECF) has become one of the latest innovative financing alternatives for startups and SMEs throughout the world during the last decade. This article aims to assess the revised crowdfunding directive of Turkey and its role in the development of the ecosystem. The concept of ECF is elucidated with its stakeholders, challenges, and solutions. Then the effect of the revised regulation is analyzed through a case study of the first active ECF platform in Turkey, Fonbulucu. Finally, the article discusses the potential improvements to the existing directive considering the practices of Fonbulucu.

This article examines the relationship between labour regulation and self-employment in the BRICS countries by using data from the Labour Regulation Index developed at the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University (CBR-LRI) and the ILOSTAT collected and developed by the ILO Department of Statistics from 1992 to 2013. The research is conducted in two strands. In the first strand, the study examines the relationship between labour regulation and self-employment at the overall level. The empirical results obtained suggest that a negative relationship exists in Brazil, China, and South Africa, while a positive relationship exists in Russia and South Africa. This implies that, as the relative strength of labour regulation increases in Brazil, China, and South Africa, fewer workers are likely to be engaged in self-employment. In Russia and India, however, the result implies that more workers are likely to be engaged in self-employment with relatively stronger labour regulation. In the second strand, the study provides a breakdown of labour regulation and self-employment into measures of their constituent components, including the regulation on different forms of employment, working time, dismissal of employees, employee representation, and industrial actions and employers’ and vulnerable employment. The findings suggest that not all five aspects of labour regulation have a significant effect on employers’ and vulnerable employment in the BRICS countries except for Russia. The most influential or the only aspect that has a significant effect on employers’ employment is the regulation on different forms of employment in Brazil and South Africa (negative) and Russia (positive), and the regulation on industrial actions in India (positive) and China (negative), while the most influential or the only aspect affecting vulnerable employment is the regulation on dismissal in Brazil (negatively), the regulation on employee representation in Russia (positively), the regulation on different forms of employment in India (positively), the regulation on industrial actions in China (negatively), and the regulation on working time in South Africa (positively).

The relationship between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China goes back more than seventy years and has undergone considerable changes over the decades. This article attempts to shed light on the evolution of the two countries’ bilateral relations over the decades, analyze the background and future of certain phenomena in those relations, such as the economic connections that exist in the Sino- Russian relations, and examine the strengthening of Moscow’s and Beijing’s ties in light of the Special Military Operation. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the treaties and agreements concluded between the two countries, with a particular focus on the documents of the post-Soviet period, while making extensive references to Russian judicial practice in the implementation of these treaties and agreements. By doing so, the article hopes to contribute to the understanding of two of the world’s most important countries’ relationship which has steadily been gaining importance on the international stage and is poised to bear strong influence on global politics in the 21 st century.

In non-merger antitrust cases efficiencies should play a significant role when authorities decide on cases as many potentially anticompetitive practices may have pro-competition effects, according to economic theory. In many jurisdictions rule of reason or effect based legal standard is claimed to be the policy adopted according to the own authorities. For such legal standards, considering efficiencies is part of the standard analysis protocol. We review the practice of efficiency defense in antitrust cases in selected BRICS and European countries. The case study shows that efficiencies are considered in rulings less often than expected. Similar arguments are used across countries, suggesting a common underlying economic analysis across jurisdictions that may have different legal institutions. We have employed the cross-country comparison based on Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa cases. We also summarize the main reasons for efficiencies analysis not to be able to reverse the concluded anticompetitive effect from a business practice.

In the process of reducing the speculative financial adjustment that artificially stimulates consumer demand in developed countries, the importance of suppliers of physical goods (commodities) from developing countries will increase. I don’t believe in a complete dictate of commodities producers because they are dependent on counter deliveries of technologies from developed countries. However, relationships will be built between holders of physical goods, and technologies will change significantly. The pricing function for commodities will be transferred to several exchanges of developing countries which will be controlled by the commodity producers. Food consumers from Asian and African developing countries will be provided with the BRICS assistance in the creation and protection of reserve food warehouses on their territory as well as supporting their key exports through the creation of a network of new commodity exchanges. The article substantiates the need for independent formation of regional prices by the BRICS countries for the primary goods of their exports on their exchanges. I propose various combinations among the founding countries for new commodity exchanges for mineral fertilizers, oil, diamonds, titanium, vanadium, palladium, wheat, and uranium. Trading on all these new commodity exchanges must take place entirely in the currencies of the engaged countries.

The Concept of Sustainable Development is one of the basic principles of the modern world. An increasing number of fields are coming under regulation governed by this concept. Recent updates to the environmental agenda have resulted in growing demands for increased environmental responsibility on the part of states and businesses. The global nature of environmental problems, their diversity and scale, and, at times, the irreversibility of the consequences of the negative environmental impact of the economy often provide for the consolidation of efforts by the state and business, particularly, through the implementation of public-private partnership (PPP) mechanisms. This article focuses on the pros and cons of legislation in the BRICS countries in the area of PPP practice in general and in environmental protection in particular. The data and PPP practices have been collected from the World Bank, UNCITRAL, and other official national sources related to PPP. An analysis of the legislation on PPPs in the BRICS countries indicates a lack of uniformity in the legal regulation of the relationships arising from this partnership, as well as a lack of specific legislation on PPPs specifically addressing environmental protection. The analysis shows that only those BRICS countries using the common law system (South Africa and India) have the instruments available to allow potential investors to fully assess the PPP model as it currently exists in a particular country. This practice developed as a result of a more flexible approach to the regulation of public relations. Undoubtedly, one of the many advantages of this approach is the ability to adjust the PPP system and model all of the known forms and types of PPPs in accordance with the specific needs of society and the state. The lack of flexibility, for example, of the Russian legislation on PPP regulation, has led to the limited forms or types and objects of PPPs, which is inconsistent with the modern needs of society and the state to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.