Political Economy Commons^™

Putting The ‘D’ Into The Oecd – The Dac In The Cold War Years, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter charts the DAC’s Cold War history. During this period the DAC established much of the institutional and intellectual scaffolding of international development cooperation. Moreover, participation in the DAC also orchestrated a quiet revolution in the identities of its members, forging them into an imagined community of donors in which the supply of development assistance came to be seen as a routine function of modern industrialised states. Although the Cold War provided the overarching backdrop, the chapter also teases out some of the other key features of the landscape inhabited by the DAC and how they constrained and enabled …

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 …

Governance In A Globalised World, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

Discussions surrounding the sources of power and authority that govern the social world have taken place since ancient times. Finally, in the latter half of the twentieth century, it appeared that this debate had been decisively resolved in favour of the view that governance was the preserve of governments. This was a consequence of the ascendance in the social sciences of methodologies that presupposed human activities to correspond to the territorial boundaries of sovereign states. The privileging of sovereign territoriality did not reflect a poverty of scholarly thinking but was a by-product of their social world. (Taylor, 1996). By the …

Austerity For All Seasons: Communicating On The Economy In Ireland, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan, Joseph K. Fitzgerald

Conference papers

What is clear is that in Ireland it has been a good crisis for economists, in the sense that the status and power of the profession has increased, especially in public discourse and state bureaucracy. This is not to deny that the academic critique and public questioning of the status of economics, that has followed the failure of the profession internationally prior to the crisis. It would be interesting to see if the rise of economists status has taken place in other countries and if there is a pattern to the profession’s fortunes in its different fields across, for example …

The Evolution Of The International Corporate Tax Regime, 1920-2008, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

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 …

Uk Governance: From Overloading To Freeloading, Richard Woodward

Articles

The UK's ongoing political turbulence has prompted a reprise of debates from the 1970s when many concluded the country was ungovernable. Then, the most influential diagnosis conceptualised the UK's governance problem as one of ‘overloading’ caused by the electorate's excessive expectations. This article argues that these accounts overlooked another phenomenon besieging UK governance during this period. This phenomenon was freeloading: the withering of government capacity deriving from the ability of actors to enjoy the benefits of citizenship without altogether contributing to the cost. In the interim, these problems have become endemic, not least because of the unspoken but discernible policy …

A Strange Revolution: Mock Compliance And The Failure Of The Oecd’S International Tax Transparency Regime, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

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.

Exploring Economists & Society: Constructing Expert Identity, Joseph Fitzgerald, Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

The recent economic crisis has created a heightened interest in economics and greater demand for economics experts. The media has played an important role in meeting this demand as mediated expertise is relied upon to understand the complex relationships within society (Albaek, Christiansen and Togeby 2003; Beck 1992; Boyce 2006; Giddens 1990). Such interactions of experts with media are a key element of the knowledge flows within society (Sturdy et al. 2009) and so have attracted research attention (Ekstrom and Lundell 2011; Hutchby 2006; Montgomery 2008). This paper contributes to this literature by focusing on the under-researched area of the …

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 …

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 …

Fifty More Years? Reform And Modernisation Of The Oecd, Richard Woodward

Articles

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is a vital, if frequently unnoticed, cog in the machine of global governance. On the organisation's 50th anniversary, Richard Woodward assesses whether the OECD's reform programme can secure its future in a changing world.

From Boom To Doom To Boom: Offshore Financial Centres And Development In Small States, Richard Woodward

Articles

During the 1990s tax havens and offshore financial centres (OFCs) were subject to a string of initiatives designed to raise their tax and regulatory regimes to accepted international standards. Many commentators forecast that this would lead to the demise of OFCs, a worry for the many small states whose economic well being depended heavily on the provision of offshore financial services. Despite this regulatory onslaught many small state OFCs have prospered in the new millennium. This paper seeks to explain this apparent paradox by arguing that (1) international initiatives were riddled with loopholes and exceptions that have been gleefully seized …

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 …

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 …

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.

Offshore Strategies In Global Political Economy: Small Islands And The Case Of The Eu And Oecd Harmful Tax Competition Initiatives, Richard Woodward

Articles

This article investigates how recent attempts by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to clamp down on harmful tax competition will affect small island economies with offshore financial centres (OFCs). It argues that although there are legitimate concerns about the initiatives, the likelihood that small island OFCs will disappear is remote. A confluence of factors have forced the EU and OECD to dilute their original proposals to the extent that while some marginal OFCs may be driven out of existence, more sophisticated OFCs will be unharmed and may even benefit from this supposed …

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.

Money And The Spatial Challenge: Multilevel Governance And The “Territorial Trap”’, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

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.

An ‘Ation’ Not A ‘Nation’: The Globalisation Of World Politics, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.