Monday Blog: What sort of future for Europe?
Terms like ‘staying in Europe’, ‘pulling out of Europe’, ‘the European project’ and similar expressions are dispensed liberally in popular discourse. The last time I checked a map, Europe comprised a lot of people form Achill in the west of Ireland to Kharyaginskiy in Russia where it is already...
Presentation to Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight
External event contribution Tom McDonnell appeared before the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight on the 6th of September 2016. In his opening statement on the Economic and Fiscal Position in the Context of Budget 2017 he discussed the fiscal space and identified priorities for inclusive growth in Budget 2017. These...
Opening Statement to the Budgetary Oversight Committee
External event contribution The Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight commenced a series of pre budget hearings last week with contributions from DKM, NERI, the Irish Central Bank, and the ESRI. The hearings will continue this week with contributions from the Fiscal Council and from the European Commission and then next week...
Monday Blog: What role should research organisations play today in Ireland?
On this island we are blessed with an abundance of research organisations and research knowledge coupled with unprecedented access to data sources that we could only have dreamt of a generation ago. Investment in official statistical infrastructure (much of which was prompted by statistical...
Professionalising Economics
A new initiative from the Irish Economics Association (IEA), the umbrella body for professional research economists in Ireland, is worthy of note. The IEA has set out a series of ‘guiding principles’ for its members. In essence these set out how professional economists should be operating. The...
Monday Blog: Some questions about the Programme of (new) Government
The recent Programme of Government has set the scene for policy priorities for the coming three years. Clearly, much will depend on international events as well as developments closer to home in shaping the success of economic policy. The Programme is long on aspiration and light on detail – as...
Monday Blog: Easter Musings
In the course of a decade and a year of commemorations there has been much discussion and consideration about the past. Difficult issues and questions are negotiated and depending on which tradition one tends to associate with, particular emphasis will be placed on certain events or certain...
Euro Crisis: Causes and Some Solutions
The euro crisis may be burning at a low heat but that doesnt mean the euro area is any better designed than it was six months ago. The latest NERI inBrief and accompanying working paper and presentation discuss the causes of the euro crisis. They argue that long-term success and stability for the...
NERI Seminar Dublin: Estimating Demographic Change and Expenditure Pressures in Ireland over the Medium-Term: Preliminary Analysis
Estimating Demographic Change and Expenditure Pressures in Ireland over the Medium-Term: Preliminary Analysis The Irish population, which currently ranks as Europe’s youngest, is expected to grow fast and become older. Increasing trends in resident’s life expectancy and the gradual stabilisation of...
Monday Blog: A tale of two economies (or three?)
Paradoxically, since the 1990’s consideration of all-island or all-Ireland economic issues has fallen by the way. True, the peace process and associated mechanisms have continued to highlight the importance of cross-border trade and cooperation. These matters attract almost universal support and...