Author: Alan Ahearne

The sixth annual NERI Labour Market Conference will be held on Tuesday 22 May 2018 in association with NUI Galway’s Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change. The conference will run from 10:00am -16.15pm (followed by a reception until 16.45pm) and will include research papers on various aspects of the Irish labour market and Irish labour market policy. The NERI Labour Market Conference is intended to provide a forum for the presentation of research papers on labour market issues (North and South) and is held in May each year. Presentations from researchers, academics, policy makers and labour market practitioners are invited for this forthcoming conference. Those interested should submit a title and brief abstract (max 400 words) to tom.mcdonnell@nerinstitute.net Possible topics include but are not limited to any part of the following thematic areas:

1. Employment, Unemployment and Labour Market Transitions (Migration, Age, Gender)
2. Earnings, Labour Costs and Affordability
3. Productivity, Growth and Human Capital
4. Precariousness, Low Pay, Working Conditions and Job Quality
5. Labour Market Participation and Activation, Demographics and Labour Supply
6. Labour Market Institutions: Minimum/Living Wages, Collective Bargaining, Workplace Regimes
7. Distribution and Labour Market Inequalities, Fiscal Policy and the Labour Market
8. Pensions and Pensions Policy

Registration The conference is open to all who are interested and is free to attend. However, you must register your intention to attend the conference by contacting info@nerinstitute.net

Key Dates

Submission Deadline: 13 April 2018 (Friday)

Notification of Acceptance: 24 April 2018 (Tuesday)

Registration Deadline: 18 May 2018 (Friday)

Conference Date: 22 May 2018 (Tuesday)

Contact: tom.mcdonnell@nerinstitute.net

T.K. Whitaker, voted the Irishman of the 20th Century, is widely regarded as the architect of modern Ireland. A brilliant and dedicated public servant, his seminal 1958 blueprint for economic development transformed the Irish economy and set the course for an open Ireland to prosper in a globalised world. Dr Whitaker also played a pivotal role in the search for peace in Northern Ireland, and in the modernisation of Ireland’s public sector.

Today marks a very special occasion as we honour and pay tribute to 100 years of T.K. Whitaker. In today’s Irish Times, I write about why Whitaker’s work is as relevant as ever to today’s Ireland. And at the Whitaker Institute, leading academics speak about Whitaker’s legacy. And there is this great video from the Central Bank of Ireland celebrating 100 years of Whitaker. Breithlá Sona!

Today’s Irish Times carries a wide-ranging interview with Central Bank of Ireland governor Philip Lane here.

The J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway wishes to appoint a person to the post of Lecturer Below the Bar, Economics (Natural Resource Economics and Policy), Contract Type B. The position will commence on 1 September 2016. Candidates should normally hold a PhD in economics or equivalent and demonstrate a record of publishing in peer reviewed journals, the capacity to secure research funding, and the ability to teach and supervise at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Whilst not limited to these areas, we particularly encourage applications from those with interests in agriculture and agri-food, environmental economics, marine economics, and sustainable energy and development.

The J.E. Cairnes School is home to the Whitaker Institute. The successful candidate will contribute to already successful research clusters within the Whitaker Institute, notably the Socioeconomic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) and the Centre for Environment, Sustainability and Development (CEDS). Through these clusters, the School already has strong links with Teagasc, the Marine Institute, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The successful candidate will be expected to strengthen these relationships and enhance the School’s existing comparative advantage in the area of economic evaluation. The School is already a leader in the economics of evaluation in both the natural resource/environment and health/ageing areas.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (GMT) on Thursday, 21^st January 2016.  It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

For more information and Application Form please see website:  http://www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/jobs/ Applications should be submitted online.

Today’s Irish Times carries my views on the immense damage that the Syriza-led government has done to the Greek economy in a short space of time. Link is here.