Economics Commons^™

Submission To The Future Of The Media Commission, Brendan K. O'Rourke, Joseph K. Fitzgerald

Reports

Dr. Brendan K. O’Rourke is a Senior Lecturer at Technological University Dublin, where he focuses on learning in the area of discourses of the economy, in particular examining enterprise, policy and public discourses on the economy. His scholarly work has been widely published as chapters in edited volumes, encyclopedia / handbook entries and in over 20 peer-reviewed academic journals such the Critical Discourse Studies, Politics and Social Semiotics. More information on his work is available on www.brendankorourke.com . Dr. Joseph K. FitzGerald lectures in international strategy at Technological University Dublin and has published on topics such as how young men …

Media Discourses On The Economy In Ireland: Framing The Policy Possibilities, Brendan K. O'Rourke

Books/Book Chapters

Ireland suffered a lot economically in the Great Recession, yet its policies continued on a neoliberal trajectory, making Irish neoliberalism less a non-dead Zombie and more like a reinvigorated Frankenstein’s monster, with ordoliberal transplants from Germany grafted into an Anglo-American neoliberal composite body. Yet along with these continuities come much change. There was political change in party strengths and personnel. There was change in the Irish state’s capacity for policy analysis (MacCarthaigh, 2017) an increase in the number of Ireland’s policy analysts and their specialisms, and an increased stress on evidence-based policy-making. How can we explain both these continuities and …

Visions Of The Future In Budgetary Discourse, Ewan Macdonald, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan

Conference papers

Whilst there is ample precedent to argue against the common-sense notion that the ideological leanings of political parties are congruent with their implementation of fiscal policy (Boix, 2000; Garrett & Lange, 1991; Hibbs, 1977; Liargovas & Manolas, 2007), there is a relative dearth of research on the role of discourse in shaping fiscal policy with one notable exception by Maatsch (2014). With this in mind, we approach the issue of examining fiscal policy through a fixed, contested and subverted within particular texts” (Howarth, 2005, p. 341). This paper examines how the future is constructed in Irish budget speeches delivered between …

Ireland Austerity Addiction: Challenges & Opportunities, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogsn

Conference papers

The current hold of austerity on Irish public policy provokes a comparison with addiction. Postliberalism, the form of austerity Ireland is hooked on, brought the country to its knees. It tied the millstone of bank bailouts around Ireland’s neck, slashed its education and health spending and meant its budgets were closely supervised by the Troika of the Europe Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank from 2010-2013. Unemployment spiked and there was an exodus, particularly of young people, from the country. This was a period of national humiliation as economic sovereignty evaporated in a deal described …

Taxation For Whom?:A Diachronic Analysis Of Taxation In Ireland And The United Kingdom From 1970-2015., Ewan Macdonald, John Hogan, Brendan O'Rourke

Other

This paper explores the discursive development of taxation within budget speeches in two countries, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, from 1970 to 2015 by means of a corpus-assisted discourse analysis. We ask the following questions; how have discourses of taxation developed diachronically in both countries, what are the similarities and differences in the observable discourses across both countries, and for whom and how are these discourses legitimised? In answering these questions, this paper makes use of Corpus linguistics, a methodological approach which utilises computational analysis of large bodies of text to draw statistically significant conclusions about the …

Renting Trouble: Current Government Policy Of Relying On The Private Rented Sector To Deliver Social Housing Is Unlikely To Succeed, Tom Dunne

Reports

A review of the history of housing in Ireland shows that owner occupancy and social housing were policy choices by successive governments. Owner occupancy was heavily supported through a system of grants and tax breaks and social housing was directly provided through local authorities at subsidised rents. In recent years policy has changed and tenure neutrality is now guiding the government’s attitude to housing. This is a significant change which has not been sufficiently discussed and has consequences which are not appreciated. Relying on the market to provide rental housing for people on low incomes and who may be in …

International Organizations: An Early History, Michael Davies, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

This text provides a pioneering and comprehensive analysis of over one hundred international organizations. After introducing the broad historical and contextual settings, the book covers the full range of international organisations including those that are often overlooked or get minimal inclusion elsewhere. Each organization is analysed in a stand-alone section that consider its origins, basic mandates and evolution, the governance structure and the associated key players, current activities and future challenges. The descriptions also reflect each organization’s broader relationships with other international bodies.

How Foreign Firms Transformed Ireland’S Domestic Economy, Paul Donnelly

Articles

Today, Ireland is host to 1,033 multinational corporations. They directly employ 152,785 and account for 70 per cent or €122.5bn of exports. It’s a story that has its roots in the 1940s.

Link Levy To Services- Not Urban Middle Class Assets, Tom Dunne

Articles

Paying any tax is an unwelcome burden, but in Ireland many have a particular aversion to taxes on their homes. We are not alone in this. Elsewhere, taxes on homes are also unpopular; witness the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation which forced the California state government to cut property taxes. Nevertheless, residential property taxes remain an almost universal feature of developed countries because of compelling economic arguments for them. Also, local property taxes are regarded as the best means of funding local government.

Rarely, it seems to me, is there such a distance between what the public wants and …

From Financing Social Insurance To Insuring Financial Markets: The Socialisation Of Risk And The Privatisation Of Profit In An Age Of Irresponsibility, Simon Lee, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

Commentaries on the financial meltdown that began with Lehman Brothers’ collapse in September 2008 trace its origins to greedy bankers exploiting lax regulatory practices to take excessive risks through exotic and arcane financial instruments. While not wishing to demur from this analysis this chapter takes issue with the frequent failure to acknowledge that this has come about as a consequence of the (mis)application of state power over the past 50 years (see Helleiner 1994). Starting with the tacit support for the development of the Euromarkets in the 1960s and culminating with the responses to the turmoil of 2008-2010 the chapter …

What Lies Ahead For The Oecd?, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

The “rise of the rest” has prompted questions about the capacity and willingness of the United States to lead the liberal international order established under its post-war hegemony. Some prophesize that stronger connections amongst emerging powers are the basis for a parallel international order parading different rules, norms and institutions. In contrast, Ikenberry argues that the visionary use of US power has woven capitalist and democratic societies together into a uniquely entrenched “Western” order that is “hard to overturn and easy to join.” Prevailing arrangements will condition the environment within which rising powers make their decisions; nevertheless, by joining the …

Avoiding The Mistakes Of The Past, Tom Dunne

Articles

Tom Dunne explores the long term drivers of dysfunction in Ireland's housing markets and what a more sustainable housing system would look like.

Tax Facts, Tom Dunne

Articles

Tom Dunne Clarifies the issues surrounding different forms of property tax

Building A World-Class System In Ireland’S Financial Crisis, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

Irish higher education faces particular difficulties given the severity of its economic crisis. Like other countries, it is engaged in significant system restructuring coupled with managed policy direction. Where Ireland does differ is in its emphasis on a 'whole of country strategy' and commitment that teaching and research go hand-in-hand. This paper looks at the fortunes and mis-fortunes of Irish higher education.

The Oecd And Economic Governance: Invisibility And Impotence?, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

Chapter 3 sketches the OECD's role in economic governance, in particular the pursuit of its obligation to promote policies which maximize economic growth. While the OECD's work in the economic field evolves, its mechanisms of economic governance have barely altered. Richard Woodward argues that the OECD exerts ‘subtle discipline’ over the trajectory of economic governance through the use of its soft law mechanisms such as surveillance and peer review. These mechanisms can lead to convergence in national policies and, occasionally, outbreaks of international policy coordination. Ultimately, however, the proliferation of international mechanisms of governance and the internal politics of the …

Contribution Of Tertiary Education To Human Capital Development, Labour Market And Skills In The State Of Victoria, Australia, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

This chapter examines how effectively TAFE Institutes and universities in the State of Victoria contribute to meeting the social and economic needs of the population in terms of opportunities to study and relevance of the qualifications offered. It identifies some key achievements and areas for improvement. The chapter closes with a series of recommendations that include the need for a greater system approach to tertiary education in order to support sustainable regional development and the role that the State of Victoria can play in this strategy.

The Future Of The Oecd, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is one of the least written about and least understood of our major global institutions. This new book builds a well-rounded understanding of this crucial, though often neglected, institution, with a range of clearly written chapters that:

• outline its origins and evolution, bringing its story fully up-to-date

• present a clear framework for understanding the OECD

• set the institution within the broader context of global governance

• outline key criticisms and debates

• evaluate its future prospects.

Given the immense challenges facing humanity at the start of the 21st century, the need for the OECD …

The Very Basics Of Sustainability - An Alternative Viewpoint (Slides With Audio) (Large File! To Speed Up Download, Right-Click On "Download" Link To Save To Own Pc.), Jim Mcgovern

Other resources

This presentation sets out the very basics of ‘sustainability’, although a definition of sustainability is not attempted. Some of the very basics are the context in which the Earth and humankind exist in space and time, the Earth’s climate, the Earth’s population and humankind’s options and choices. The author advocates keeping an open mind on all available options, including the use of oil, gas, coal, tar sands, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power etc., as well as the technologies that are more widely considered ‘green’. The author also argues that, in addressing the challenges that humankind faces, globally concerted effort …

Why Is The Oecd Involved In The Heiligendamm Process?, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Geo-Politics, The ‘War On Terror’ And The Competitiveness Of The City Of London, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Global Governance And The Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Age Concern: The Future Of The Oecd, Richard Woodward

Articles

‘Life’, so the adage has it, ‘begins at 40’. But, as American journalist Helen Rowland wryly observed, ‘so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times’. Such a sentiment should resonate within the Parisian corridors of the Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD) which celebrates its 45th anniversary on 30 September. Rival institutional developments, evolving geo-political realities, hostility from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the absence of a precisely defined mission statement have marred the OECD’s fifth decade and left the organisation struggling to justify its place in …

Governing The City Of London In A Global Era: The Promise And Problems Of Transgovernmental Regulatory Networks, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

"Offshore” Or “Shorn Off”: The Oecd’S Harmful Tax Competition Initiative And Development In Small Island Economies, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

The difficulties of developing and executing a sustainable development program in Small Island Economies (SIEs) are well documented. Comparatively small domestic markets, remote export markets, a dearth of natural and human resources, susceptibility to environmental change and natural disasters, plus limitations on the state’s capacity to govern economic activity have narrowed the range of feasible development strategies resulting in a reliance on sectors vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the global economy.

Land Value Taxation: Persuasive Theory But Practically Difficult, Tom Dunne

Articles

While the theoretical case for Land Value Taxation is regarded as being very persuasive, most people looking closely at the idea form the view that the practical difficulties of introducing it into an established modern economy are compelling. Nevertheless, in Europe and America the ideas put forward by George continue to influence many people discussing issues around land use planning, urban development and methods of funding infrastructure and local government.

Land Values As A Source Of Local Government Finance, Tom Dunne

Books/Book Chapters

Funding local government has been a permanent feature of debates about public policy in Ireland and Many feel that the balance of power between local and central government is weighted too much in

This paper suggests that the concept of economic rent, on which the justification for property taxes rests and its relevance to the property market in a modern, economically successful and urbanised Ireland, needs to be vented, discussed and debated.

The proposition is that if a greater understanding was created about the economic characteristics of landed property both value capture and local property taxes would achieve greater public …

The Organisation For Economic Cooperation And Development, Richard Woodward

Articles

This article reviews the role of the OECD, a much cited but little studied institution, in global governance.

Futures Thinking To Achieve Sustainable Development At Local Level In Ireland, Lorcan Sirr, Ruth Kelly, John Ratcliffe

Reports

We are living in times of unprecedented global change and upheaval and over the next ten to 20 years governments, organisations and individuals will face increasing difficulties in an environment of growing complexity, heightened uncertainty and a quickening pace of change. The concept of sustainable development implies the reconciliation of long-term socio-economic development, environmental protection and quality of life; essentially it is concerned with the future. Unfortunately, the potential for linking “futures thinking” to debates about sustainable development at local and regional government levels is relatively undeveloped, particularly in Ireland. Responding to this challenge, The Futures Academy at Technological University …

All Party Oireachtas Committee On The Constitution Ninth Progress Report, Tom Dunne

Reports

Ireland, like many other countries with high rates of economic growth, is urbanising rapidly. There has been considerable emphasis on planning for this through the National Development Plan, the National Spatial Strategy, development guidelines and other measures. Through these the state intends that a proper planning process will lead growth rather than leaving it to market forces to drive development in what are regarded as undesirable directions. The latter it is feared will lead to unsuitable social, economic or physical outcomes. Unintended results have flowed from the implementation, or flawed implementation of many of these policies and have given rise …