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Economic Development (1958) remains a document associated with T.K. Whitaker’s role in Ireland’s shift away from protectionist economics. Whatever the report’s exact role in changing the direction of Irish economic strategy, the reputation of Economic Development greatly exceeds that of An Economic Survey of Northern Ireland (1957), which was a report authored by Isles and Cuthbert, two Belfast-based academics. The economic analysis contained within both reports/strategy documents along with their respective fates forms the focus of this paper. The relative failure to implement the analysis set out by Isles and Cuthbert, as well as its relative obscurity, rests on a range of factors. Perceptions of the acuteness of the respective economic problems, issues of authorship, the close interaction between political leadership and major industries/firms in Northern Ireland and the range of actionable policy prescriptions presented in a report are all important in explaining the contemporary and subsequent receptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we undertook an analysis of the Economic Structure of Towns in Ireland, classified by size. While economic development in Ireland is often viewed as an East-West issue, the situation is more complex. Traditionally towns were regarded as having poor demographics, while our analysis indicates that towns have experienced net inward migration and although they have a higher dependency ratio than cities, it is due to more children. However towns exhibit lower skill levels on average and a greater reliance on low growth sectors. In particular, towns have had the highest impact in terms of changed unemployment as a result of the economic downturn. This is particularly manifested via one third of working age households having no one at work and with a higher poverty rate than the national average. This has had a greater impact on savings during the crisis than the national average, with consequential impacts on domestic demand. Smaller towns on average are more likely to have a higher share of employment rather than jobs as a result of commuting to larger growth centres. We developed an indicator known as economic strength that combines unemployment with migration. Larger towns were weaker in terms of this index. Also there was a significant spatial spread. The weakest towns were more likely to be the local growth centre for more depressed regions, be more peripheral, and have lower skills. We concluded by recommended a targeted policy programme to make towns more attractive to live in and visit; to make it easier to do business; to increase consumer demand and sentiment; and, to improve access to finance of SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the methodology and results of an experimental Composite Economic Index developed by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). The aim of the Index is to provide a short term measure of the performance of the NI economy using a mainly output based approach. It combines existing official statistics series from the Index of Services, Index of Production, Index of Construction, Agriculture and public sector employee jobs based on their relative share of annual GVA to provide a chain-linked measure of total quarterly economic activity for NI. The index is not a comprehensive measure of quarterly Gross Domestic Product as there are no income and expenditure components. However the composite methodology has been applied to the equivalent UK series and the results correspond well with the UK GDP series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over three decades, the share of national income going to labour in most countries has been in decline. Conversely, capital's share of national income has increased. The trend in the decline in labour's share of income has been less noticeable as national income has continued to rise. The reasons for the decline in labour share are complex and will be analysed. This decline has been secular, other than a small recent temporary reversal in some countries. This paper will examine (i) the trends in this decline in many countries, including Ireland; (ii) the definitional issues and trends within both the labour and capital share; (iii) its causes; and (iv) the implications for economic development and the consequences of this shift on economies and societies. The decline in labour's share has contributed to increased inequality in the distribution of national income and there has also been a substantial redistribution within the labour share. The decline may have major consequences for economies, with declining demand and other impacts and also for societies, where social cohesion may be threatened by a continuation of the trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the peak of the recent property boom, housing equity withdrawal, or "top-up" loans, accounted for around one-third of residential mortgage loans issued. This collateral-based lending was typically issued at a significant discount to other forms of personal lending, often at tracker rates. Following the collapse of the Irish housing market, the value of "top-up" loans issued in 2011 was down 96 percent from 2006 - the peak year for this form of lending. This paper draws out some of the trends in housing equity withdrawal over the last decade, both in terms of the extent of lending that occurred and the reasons for borrowers taking out such loans. From a domestic demand perspective, the concern would be the extent to which this form of borrowing fed into domestic consumption and the longer-terms implications for Irish economic growth. In this context we show that equity withdrawal trends are strongly positively correlated with a number of demand measures, mainly related to spending on durables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifty years since the publication of Economic Development has been a time of change and growth for Ireland. Analysis of the development of the structural composition of the economy in this period requires a consistent and comprehensive dataset from the late 1950s onwards. The national income and expenditure tables have changed over time and a consistent set of historical tables is only available from 1970 onwards. Gross value added by sector in the official historical series is given for only a small number of sectors. In this paper the tables of gross value added by sector in current and in constant prices, are extended backwards to 1957 and expanded to include fifteen industry groupings. A new comprehensive and consistent dataset spanning fifty years of the Irish economy is thus constructed. Details of the methods and sources used to develop these series are presented. A context for analysis is set out based on the framework or model developed by Professor Carlota Perez in a series of publications since 1983 and most notably in her 2002 book Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital. Structural changes of the economy over the period are analysed. The analysis shows how different sectors have contributed to the economy over time. It also reveals, in the Irish case, that structural change can be independent of economic growth. The Irish economy is set in the context of the Perez model of technological revolutions and Ireland?s place in current and past technological revolutions is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]