The investment strategy of the National Pension Reserve Fund has been much debated. In the Spring 2013 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, there is an interesting article by Bernstein, Lerner and Schoar here.
Category: Uncategorized
The Irish planning and land-use system is very similar to the set-up in the UK. There is a re-think under way across the water and one of the main contributors will be visiting;
Speaker: Christian Hilber (LSE)
Topic: The British System of Land-Use Regulation: Key Features and (unintended) Economic Consequences
Date and Time: June 30th at 5.30 pm
Venue: Davy Stockbrokers, 5th. floor, 49, Dawson St., Dublin 2.
Admission is free but you are requested to book – email Breeda.McRann@davy.ie
The Workshop is kindly sponsored this year by Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
The Politics of Sovereign Debt
The Helix, Dublin City University, 12 June 2013
The debt crises in Ireland and Europe require a combination of political
and economic analysis. This conference includes cutting-edge papers from
leading international scholars.
950-1040: Dr Lauren Phillips, London School of Economics and Political Science
Chair: Paschal Donohoe, TD
Paper: Lauren Phillips, Politics, Policy and Sovereign Debt Market Volatility
in Advanced Economies
1040-1130: Dr Michael Bechtel, University of St Gallen
Chair: Stephen Donnelly, TD
Paper: Michael Bechtel, Jens Hainmueller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Yotam Margalit, Columbia University, Studying Public Opinion on the Eurozone
Bailouts
1150-1250: Prof Marc Flandreau, Graduate Institute, University of Geneva
Chair: Prof Gary Murphy, DCU
Paper: Marc Flandreau, Causes and Consequences of Bondholders? Organizations
in the Nineteenth Century: A Revisionist View and a Research Agenda
140-230: Dr Roman Goldbach, University of Dresden
Chair: Dr Tim Hicks, Trinity College Dublin
Paper: Roman Goldach and Christian Fahrholz, Friedrich Schiller University,
Jena, The Euro Area?s Common Default Risk: Evidence on the Commission?s Effect
on Uncertainty
230-320: Dr Iain McMenamin, DCU
Chair: Dr Niamh Hardiman, University College Dublin
Paper: Iain McMenamin, Michael Breen, Juan Muñoz-Portillo, DCU, Elections,
Institutions and Sovereign Debt
340-430: Dr Joachim Wehner, London School of Economics and Political Science
Chair: Dr Donal de Buitléir, publicpolicy.ie
Paper: James Alt, Harvard University, David Lassen, University of Copenhagen
and Joachim Wehner, The Politics and Economics of Fiscal Gimmickry in Europe
The conference (including lunch and coffee) is free. However, pre-registration
is necessary. Please email juan.munozportillo2@mail.dcu.ie to pre-register.
The ESRI has just posted two Research Notes on credit constraints. The Note on Measuring Credit Constraints for Irish SMEs shows that finding customers has been the largest problem for SMEs. The analysis suggests that roughly one in nine SMEs faced credit constraints between April and September 2012. Micro firms, those not exporting and those in the construction, real estate, hotels and professional services sectors are most affected. The latest ECB data indicate that in recent months concerns about access to finance have become more wide spread.
The Note on Younger and Older Households in the Crisis shows that between 2005 and 2010, average income and consumption dropped for younger Irish households, but rose for older households. The Note shows that younger households are most affected by unemployment, arrears and negative equity. It argues that credit constraints arising from these prevent younger households from smoothing consumption. Deleveraging helps to exit credit constraints arising from negative equity.
The FT has some important articles
- Op-ed by Wolfgang Schäuble Banking union needs firm foundations
- Accompanying news article here
- Details of the evolving position of various European institutions here