The Irish public sector in European perspective

A Round-Table event organized by the Research Programme on Building State Capacity in Ireland, UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy

Phelan Room, National University of Ireland (NUI), 49 Merrion Square

Friday 23 January 2015

9:00-9:25 Registration
9.25 Welcome (Prof Niamh Hardiman, UCD)

Session 1
9.30-10.45 – Public sector reform: trends in Europe and elsewhere

Chair: Prof Niamh Hardiman, Director of the Public Policy Programme, UCD
Prof Edoardo Ongaro (Professor of International Public Services Management, Northumbria University and President of the European Group for Public Administration)

Responses

Robert Watt (Secretary General, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform) Dr. Muiris MacCarthaigh (Queen’s University, Belfast)
Dr. Richard Boyle (Institute of Public Administration, Dublin)

10.45-11.15 coffee

Session 2
11.15-12.30 – Delivering public services in new ways

Chair: Prof Philip O’Connell, Director, UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy
Prof Koen Verhoest, (Professorship of Comparative Public Administration and Globalization, University of Antwerp)

Responses

Prof Colin Scott (Principal of the College of Human Sciences, UCD)
Prof Tony Fahey (Vice-Principal for Research and Innovation, College of Human Sciences, UCD)

This event is supported by UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy.

Admission is are free but places are limited.

Please reserve a place by emailing geary@ucd.ie by 5pm on Friday 16 January 2015. Please indicate clearly whether you wish to attend Session 1, Session 2, or both:

Session 1, 9.30-10.45 – Public sector reform: trends in Europe and elsewhere Session 2, 11.15-12.30 – Delivering public services in new ways

Not Quite Checkmate for the Bundesbank Germany Appears Defeated Over QE, But Might Still Dictate Terms of Surrender

This WSJ article provides an overview of the current situation – here.

Mario’s Twelve Days of Christmas by Gavin Kostick

Mario’s Twelve Days of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A printing press and lots of QE.

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight bloggers blogging
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine bankers rigging
Eight bloggers blogging
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten pols a-fawning
Nine bankers rigging
Eight bloggers blogging
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven hawks a-crashing
Ten pols a-fawning
Nine bankers rigging
Eight bloggers blogging
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me (altogether now)
Twelve doves a-flying
Eleven hawks a-crashing
Ten pols a-fawning
Nine bankers rigging
Eight bloggers blogging
Seven investors investing
Six left elections
Five percent unemployment!
Four quarters growth
Three Abe’s arrows
Two percent inflation
And a printing press and lots of QE.

A – printing press – and – lots of QQQQQ EEEEEE.

Another Trichet letter

To the Spanish Prime Minister in August 2011 (reply also published):

  • Publication: Letter from Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB, and Mr. Fernandez-Ordonez to Mr. Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain, on 5 August 2011


  • 19/12/2014 Publication: Reply from Mr. Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain to Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB, on 6 August 2011
     

 

Resolving Residential Mortgage Distress: Time to Modify?

New IMF WP by Jochen Andritzky here.

Summary: In housing crises, high mortgage debt can feed a vicious circle of falling housing prices and declining consumption and incomes, leading to higher mortgage defaults and deeper recessions. In such situations, resolution policies may need to be adapted to help contain negative feedback loops while minimizing overall loan losses and moral hazard. Drawing on recent experiences from Iceland, Ireland, Spain, and the United States, this paper discusses how economic trade-offs affecting mortgage resolution differ in crises. Depending on country circumstances, the economic benefits of temporary forbearance and loan modifications for struggling households could outweigh their costs.