Monday Blog: First principle: Do no harm
On Thursday of this week just as half a million children at primary school begin their summer holidays many thousands of children in families with one parent face a drop in family income - a sharp drop in some cases by as much as €140 per week. Just at a time when working parents are under severe...
Tax Increases Since the Bailout: the facts
The Taoiseach Enda Kenny, speaking in Brussels on Thursday, mentioned the following in the context of the ongoing negotiations regarding a debt/bailout deal for Greece: “I pointed out at the EPP that in Ireland’s case we did not increase income tax; we did not increase VAT; we did not increase PRSI...
Monday Blog: TTIP in trouble
Last week an unprecedented even took place in the European Parliament. Following months of complex negotiation between the European Commission – on behalf of European Union Member States – and the United States of America a resolution to the Parliament to be discussed and voted upon last Wednesday...
Monday Blog: Wages on the rise after 7 years of stagnation.
As data filter through every three months from the Central Statistics Office it is clear that wages are recovering slowly across most sectors of the economy. The adjustment of the labour market over a period of 7 to 8 years since the crash of 2008 is, and will be, the subject of research – did wages...
Reforming the EU Corporate Tax System
Last week a delegation from the European Commission (the TAXE committee) visited Dublin as part of their work examining the structure of the EU corporate taxation system and the reforms it requires. As somebody who researches various taxation issues, and as a former member of the Commission on...
Monday Blog: All islands economy
The development of closer economic ties between both parts of Ireland has been a feature of growing European integration as well as the establishment of a ‘peace dividend’ following the Good Friday agreement of 1998. While much research work has been undertaken in relation to cross-border and all...
Monday Blog: Inequality and Budget 2016
After an interlude the idea of economic inequality is back on the agenda. A combination of events, observable trends and, more recently, the published works of economists such as Thomas Piketty, Tony Atkinson and Richard Wilkinson have helped put the spotlight on the question of social inequality...
Monday Blog: Corbyneconomics and Northern Ireland
The election of a new leader to the UK Labour Party signals a potentially important milestone. Many see this development in extremely negative terms while others see it as a welcome break in thinking and policy not only in the UK but across Europe. Whatever readers may think of Corbyneconomics or...
Monday Blog: The wealth of nations is not so even
When Adam Smith wrote ‘The Wealth of Nations’ in 1776 wealth consisted mainly of land, housing and other treasures. While comprehensive data are hard to come by, Thomas Piketty in his book, Capital in the 21 st Century, managed to track the main trends and composition of wealth in a number of large...
Recap on the NERI Labour Market Conference
The third annual NERI labour market conference was held on 1 May in Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast. The event was held in conjunction with the Queen's Management School and featured presentations on a wide range of areas. Details on the topics covered, including links to the slides, are...