Author: Stephen Kinsella

Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Limerick.

Conference on Irish Economic Policy Programme

Conference on Irish Economic Policy

Institute of Bankers, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1

February 1st

On February 1st 2013, the Dublin Economics Workshop, in conjunction with Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the Department of Economics at the University of Limerick (UL) and the Geary Institute at UCD is hosting a conference on Irish economy policy at the Institute of Bankers.

The conference will explore current issues in economic policy in key areas:  Education and Children, Industrial Policy, Unemployment/Social Protection, Economics and Evaluation, and the Political Economy of Austerity. The outline programme is set out below.

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 is no charge for the conference. Coffee will be provided free of charge mid-morning and there will be a break at 12.45 to enable participants to take lunch.

To register for the conference, please email: emma.barron@ucd.ie . Advance registration is essential for attendance at the conference, i.e., is required for entry to the facilities.

9.15- 9.45

Registration and Opening

9.45-10.45

1. Education and Children

2. Industrial Policy

CHAIR: Minister Frances Fitzgerald (D/Children and Youth Affairs)

1. Orla Doyle (UCD/Geary) Experimental Evidence on the Early Effectiveness of Intervention in Childhood

2. Emer Smyth (ESRI) School factors and student outcomes: insights from longitudinal research

CHAIR:  Declan Hughes (Forfás)

1. Donal Palcic & Eoin Reeves (UL) Privatisation: past performance and prospects.

2. Fergal McCann SMEs in Ireland: Contributions, Credit and Economic Crisis (Central Bank)

10.45-11.15

Coffee

11:15-12:45

3. The Labour Market

4. Economics and Evaluation

CHAIR: John McKeon (D/Social Protection)

1. Eilish Kelly (ESRI), Seamus McGuiness (ESRI), Philip O’Connell (UCD/Geary) Activation in Ireland: Are we on the Right Path?

2. Bryan Fanning (UCD) Why did Ireland become so open to immigration?

3. Frank Walsh (UCD) The union wage premium in Ireland

CHAIR: Frances Ruane  (ESRI)

1. Ronnie Downes (D/Public Expenditure and Reform) Economics & Evaluation in the Public Service – Capacity and Commitment?

2. Gail Birkbeck (Atlantic Philantrophies) Evaluating Services and Expenditures in the Social sector

3. Helena Lenihan (UL), Evaluating the impact of enterprise/industrial policy supports: developing new methods and approaches

12.45-14.00

Lunch Break

14.00-16.00

Plenary Session: Political Economy of Austerity

CHAIR: Robert Watt (D/Public Expenditure and Reform)

1. Niamh Hardiman (UCD) The politics of austerity budgets

2. Michael Taft  (UNITE) The Great Stagnation

3. Frank Barry (TCD), European Integration and Austerity

4. Colm McCarthy, Dubrovnik International University, What Kind of Banking Union for the Eurozone?

(We’ll be updating the conference programme as provisional titles come in).

Irish Economy Conference February 1st at the Institute of Bankers

Save the date. On February 1st 2013, the DEW in conjunction with ESRI, UL and the UCD Geary Institute is hosting a conference on Irish economy policy in the Institute of Bankers Headquarters in Dublin. Frances Ruane, Liam Delaney and I are organising a conference for the general public on the Irish economy, much in the same vein as last year’s. Admission will be free but limited by the capacity of the rooms. To register for the conference, please email: emma.barron@ucd.ie

The main theme of the conference will be to explore how economic policy could be developed to enable substantial development even in the context of a tightened fiscal and monetary environment.

The conference will have parallel sessions addressing Unemployment, Political Economy, Economics and Evaluation, Education and Children, Industrial Policy, Healthcare, and Ireland’s macroeconomic outlook. We’ll announce a full lineup early in the new year.

The conference aims to provide a forum for discussion of new ideas on the conduct of Irish economic policy, including the extent to which academic economics and related disciplines can make a bigger contribution to the conduct of economic policy in Ireland, and the extent to which policy can be designed more effectively. The speakers will come from a range of sectors and disciplines and we will also ensure that individuals have access to talks online to enable debate through blogs and twitter.

Minister Pat Rabbitte: Ireland won’t pay the 3.1 billion promissory note in March.

Details here. From the piece:

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has said that the country will not pay the €3.1bn promissory note for former Anglo Irish Bank when it is due in March.

He told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics that the Government can not pay this “IOU” entered into by the last Government after the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank.

He said the European Central Bank was a difficult institution to “bring around” to stamping the deal Ireland needs on the promissory note.

But Minister Rabbitte said he believes it will happen before the payment is due next March.

Was planning on having an early night, but it’s #twip all the way now.

Your thoughts, most distinguished commenters?

INFINITI 2013: Call for Papers

Next year’s INFINITI will move from TCD to Science Po Aix, and a call for papers has issued. Details are at this link. The keynotes include René M Stulz and Geert Bekaert. Submissions are online, as they have been for some time, the deadline is January 13th.

European Commission Forecast: Not so good for Ireland

The EC is out today with their autumn forecast, (here’s Ireland specifically (.pdf)) and the numbers don’t look great for Ireland in the short term.

Headlines:

Domestic demand to remain, ahem, subdued, until 2014;

Labour markets weak, especially construction.

Fiscal pressures to continue.

They’ve revised downward their forecast for growth from 1.9% to 1.1% for next year.

Super.