Author: Liam Delaney

Irish Economic Policy Conference 2014

ESRI-DEW-UL-UCD Geary

Theme: Economic Policy after the Bailout

Venue: The Institute of Bankers

Date: 31^st January 2013

The conference aims to provide a forum for discussion of new ideas on the conduct of Irish economic policy, including the extent to which economics and related disciplines can make a greater contribution to the conduct of economic policy in Ireland, and the extent to which policy can be designed more effectively. The speakers and chairs come from a range of institutions and disciplines and there also be online access to presentations to ensure to enable debate through blogs and twitter.  There will be a registration charge of €20. There is no charge for student participants. Coffee will be provided mid-morning and there will be a break at 12.45 to enable participants to take lunch.

Programme

9:15 – 10:45: Plenary: The Impact of the Crisis on Industrial Relations

Chair:  Aedín Doris (NUI Maynooth)

· Kieran Mulvey (Labour Relations Commission) Prospects for Pay and Industrial Relations in the Irish Economy

· Shay Cody (IMPACT Trade Union) “The impact of the crisis on industrial relations – a public service focus”

· Michelle O’Sullivan/Tom Turner (University of Limerick) “The Crisis and Implications for Precarious Employment’”

10.45-11.15: Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45:  2A. Migration and the Labour Market

Chair:  Philip O’Connell (UCD Geary Institute)

· Piaras MacÉinrí (UCC) ‘Beyond the choice v constraint debate: some key findings from a recent representative survey on emigration’

· Peter Muhlau (TCD) “Social ties and the labour market integration of Polish migrants in Ireland and Germany”

· Alan Barrett (ESRI & TCD) and Irene Mosca (TCD) “The impact of an adult child’s emigration on the mental health of an older parent”

2B. Economics: Teaching and Practice

Chair: Ronan Gallagher (Dept of Public Expenditure and Reform)

· Brian Lucey (TCD): “Finance Education Before and After the Crash”

· Liam Delaney (Stirling): “Graduate Economics Education”

· Jeffrey Egan (McGraw-Hill Education) “The commercial interest in Third Level Education”

12:45 – 1:45: Lunch Break

1:45 – 3:15: 3A. Health and Recovery

Chair: Alex White, TD, Minister of State

· David Madden (UCD) “Health and Wealth on the Roller-Coaster: Ireland 2003-2011”

· Charles Normand TCD) and Anne Nolan (TCD & ESRI) “The impact of the economic crisis on health and the health system in Ireland”

· Paul Gorecki (ESRI) ‘Pricing Pharmaceuticals: Has Public Policy Delivered?”

3B. Fiscal Policy

Chair: Stephen Kinsella (UL)

· Seamus Coffey (UCC) “The continuing constraints on Irish fiscal policy”

· Diarmuid Smyth (IFAC) ‘IFAC: Formative years and the future’

· Rory O’Farrell, (NERI) “Supplying solutions in demanding times: the effects of various fiscal measures”

3:15 – 3:30: Coffee Break

3:30 – 5:00: Plenary: Debt, Default and Banking System Design

Chair: Fiona Muldoon (Central Bank of Ireland)

· Greg Connor (NUI Maynooth) “An Economist’s Perspective on the Quality of Irish Bank Assets”

· Kieran McQuinn and Yvonne McCarthy (Central Bank of Ireland) “Credit conditions in a boom and bust property market”

· Colm McCarthy “Designing a Banking System for Economic Recovery”

· Ronan Lyons (TCD) “Household expectations and the housing market: from bust to boom”

I had posted on this a number of times but just a brief note to say the Irish Society of New Economists event is on today and tomorrow. This year the organising team is from NUI Maynooth, specifically Anita Suurlaht, Lena Golubovskaja and Adele Whelan. They have put together a remarkable programme. Congratulations to them.

The sixth annual one day conference on Economics and Psychology will be held on November 25th in NUI Maynooth. The purpose of these sessions is to develop the link between Economics, Psychology and cognate disciplines in Ireland. A special theme of these events is the implications of behavioural economics for public policy though we welcome submissions across all areas of intersection of Economics and Psychology. We welcome submissions from PhD students as well as faculty and also welcome suggestions for sessions on policy and industry relevance of behavioural economics. Programmes from the previous five are here. Abstracts (200-500 words) should be submitted before September 30th. Suggestions or questions please send to Liam.Delaney@stir.ac.uk

I have posted a few times on the implications of the emerging literature on behavioural economics and public policy for Irish policy. Some readings from a previous post are available here and three others posts with links are available here. For those interested in this area, the following links may be of interest:

(i) Cass Sunstein, who is one of the main figures in this area, recently released a new book called “Simpler: The Future of Government“. It outlines an approach to government that emphasises making regulations, laws and taxes less confusing and more robust. It is partly based on academic work and partly on his time as a senior regulator in the Obama administration. It follows on from some of the ideas in the work Nudge that he co-authored with Richard Thaler. I recommend this book to anyone involved in designing regulation, taxation and policy. It is short and written clearly by someone with experience both as a high-profile academic and a senior policy-maker.

(ii) The US have now set up a version of the UK Behavioural Insights team. Details of that are here.

(iii) One of the researchers in our group has put together a data-base of studies employing what can loosely be called “Nudges” in various areas of policy. He has currently summarised 80 studies and adds to them every week or so. There are some very interesting examples across many areas of policy.

(iv) It is in the list in one of the previous links but the book I most recommend for a wide overview on behavioural science perspectives on policy is Shafir’s “Behavioural Foundations of Public Policy“. A bit heavy (in both senses of the word) if you are looking for beach-reading but I can’t recommend it more highly to people wanting a grounding in this area.

(v) I have also put together a fairly detailed reading list on behavioural economics and public policy, including legal and ethical issues.

(vi) Apologies for blatant plug but we have started our own graduate programme in this area. Queries welcome.

(vii) Added from the comments, Kevin Denny has a list of behavioural economics resources

Finally, would be interested in people’s thoughts on this agenda in the area of Irish public policy. Are there areas where changing of default options could bring defined improvements in public services? Are there environmental changes in areas like taxation, education, health, waste management that could be enacted to improve outcomes in these areas? What areas of public policy would most benefit from reducing complexity of rules and regulations? And on the other hand, are these types of policies a distraction from real macroeconomic and social issues? How much should economics education take on board new models emerging from behavioural economics?