Here’s the paper I presented to the Old Dublin Society the other night. I had too many images to upload. Only a few are included here:
The Irish government has pledged to improve maternal choice by expanding midwifery-led care throughout the country. Earlier this year, I posted about an Irish study examining women’s preferences for maternity care and subsequent motivations when choosing place of birth (Maternity Care – what do women want?). Since then, the cost-benefit analysis of midwifery- and consultant-led care in Ireland has been published in Applied Health Economics & Health Policy.
This is the first study to estimate the net benefit of consultant- and midwifery-led models of care using cost-benefit methodology and women’s preferences for maternity care, with the results arriving at a particularly useful juncture in Irish policy formulation. While both models of care are cost-beneficial for low-risk patients, the net benefit for consultant led-care is considerably smaller. This study demonstrates the demand for midwifery-led care in Ireland, which is currently provided in only two hospitals in the north-east of the country. It also demonstrates potential cost-savings from providing midwifery-led care for low-risk women as an alternative to consultant-led care in hospitals across Ireland. It is important to note that consultant-led care is necessary for high-risk patients and is an important maternal choice for all maternity care patients.
This research was supported by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre of Ireland.
Corporate tax avoidance is a high salient political issue in Brussels.
This is largely a response to demands from citizens across the EU to ensure that large MNC’s, particularly from the US, pay their fair share of taxes when operating in the EU single market.
Ireland, as we all know, has been called out, and challenged on this issue.
The companies that the EU have in mind are large Silicon Valley firms, and finance firms operating in the shadow banking sector.
The Commission have recently called for the introduction of a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCTB), to be introduced over two stages. They are also keen to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT).
These are directly aimed at tackling corporate tax avoidance.
Ireland has said it would veto any attempt to introduce either of these at the EU level. But it was Britain that was most vocal about it.
It’s therefore worth noting that Jean Claude Juncker stated in his state of the union address this morning that he is in favour of moving toward qualified majority voting (QMV) on decisions related to the CCCTB and the FTT.
A post-Brexit EU is going to be a very different terrain for Ireland.
QMV will be used more often. This empowers German and French interests in the European Council, and the numbers stack up to ensure they get what they want.
Is the writing on the wall for Ireland’s veto against the CCCTB?
Full speech: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-17-3165_en.htm
The Economic and Social Review has just published its latest issue at (Vol 48, No 3, Autumn 2017)
Articles
Taxation, Debt and Relative Prices in the Long Run: The Irish Experience
Vahagn Galstyan, Adnan Velic
An Irish Welcome? Changing Irish Attitudes to Immigrants
and Immigration: The Role of Recession and Immigration
Frances McGinnity, Gillian Kingston
Does the Month of Birth Affect Educational and Health Outcomes? A Population-Based Analysis Using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study
Stefanie Doebler, Ian Shuttleworth, Myles Gould
Policy Section Articles
Modelling the Medium- to Long-Term Potential Macroeconomic Impact of Brexit on Ireland
Adele Bergin, Abian Garcia-Rodriguez, Edgar L. W. Morgenroth, Donal Smith
How Sensitive is Irish Income Tax Revenue to Underlying Economic Activity?
Yota Deli, Derek Lambert, Martina Lawless, Kieran McQuinn, Edgar L. W. Morgenroth
Valuing Informal Care in Ireland: Beyond the Traditional Production Boundary
Paul Hanly, Corina Sheerin
I am giving a public lecture to the Old Dublin Society in Pearse Street Library at 6pm tomorrow (Wednesday) on the above topic.
Details available at:
http://olddublinsociety.ie/index.php/meetings-outings/
Free admission. All welcome.