The Absence of Devolution - The Economic Costs
As the deadline of the 29th of June passed without the establishment of a new Executive, it looks as though Northern Ireland may be in for a long period with no devolved government. Quite how long this interregnum will last is in the realm of political speculation, but it does have important...
Monday Blog: Reclaiming the debate on enterprise
The key to a flourishing society is an economy that works for all people and not just the few. And the key to an economy that works for all is democracy in the workplace and in the political institutions that govern the market. [This is the text of a speech I gave at the 2017 Biennial Delegate...
Monday Blog: Getting our priorities right
Remarks at the recent National Economic Dialogue held in Dublin (28-29 June) "On behalf of the Nevin Economic Research Institut, I would like to welcome this opportunity to debate the choices and priorities for Ireland as we, hopefully, head towards a period of economic and social recovery and...
Monday Blog: Keeping the vultures at bay
The loss of a home and homelessness must be among the most stressful events in a person’s life. The stories of evictions from cottages and land in the 19 th century still evoke feelings of intense shock and outrage. How could this have happened in a colony of a ‘civilised empire’? Vast improvement...
Monday Blog: Housing for homes - a classic case of market failure
‘What is the concept of market failure and give an example’ was once asked in a school examination of economics. Here is a tip if you are studying economics, yourself: take housing in Ireland as an example. It ticks lots of boxes: A chronic under-supply of housing at current cost, credit, demand and...
Intergenerational Inequality in Ireland
A Eurobarometer poll of 16-30 year olds in 2016 found that 68% of Irish respondents felt excluded from economic and social life by the crisis compared to 57% in the EU as a whole and 27% in Germany. Although in some corners these concerns are likely to be dismissed as the whining of a spoilt...
Monday Blog: The “Land of Ireland for the People of Ireland?”
First, there was a bonanza for land-owners in or near cities in the 1960s. Then there was the Kenny Report in 1973 (Kenny was a High Court judge who recommended pegging development land prices at 25% above agricultural land value – the recommendation has been ignored ever since). After that nothing...
The productivity problem - We need to invest
For most economists the sources of productivity, innovation and technological progress are almost co-extensive with the central question of economics - what is the source of the wealth of nations? Unfortunately productivity growth has been on a generally downward in the advanced economies for close...
Monday Blog: Rebooting and rethinking manufacturing
Time was when a patch sown on to the elbow was not a fashion statement but a timely and thrifty measure to prolong the use of a jacket or jumper. ‘Circular economy’ might be set to become the new buzzword but it is not a new idea. The discipline of economics (I much prefer the more honest descriptor...
Outlook for the Irish Economy: Trends, Projections and Storm Clouds
Trends In recent years Ireland’s headline national accounts have become increasingly distorted by multinational activity. Indeed the distortion is now so pronounced that it has become difficult to interpret Ireland’s economic performance and cyclical position using aggregate indicators. Even so, it...