Towards a corporate state? Sean Lemass and the realignment of interest groups in the policy process 1948 - 1964

This paper analyses the transformation of Irish economic policy formulation from the formation of the first inter-party government in 1948 to the breakdown of Ireland's application to join the EEC in 1963. It shows that the influence of trade unions, employers' groups and farmers' organisations on policy making in the period marked the inception of a corporatist style approach to national policy making. This period saw a general evolution in the process of the formulation of public policy towards a more conscious and overt tripartite set of arrangements. There was a gradual maturation of relations between the emerging interest groups and the government in the policy realm. The formalisation of these interest groups wherein they played a role in the long term policy planning process is emphasised. While their various representatives made strenuous efforts to advance their members' sectional interests, all groups were able to take a strikingly dispassionate and long term view of the country's economic prospects. This paper stresses the importance of Sean Lemass both in opposition and in government and argues that he was the key player in moving the country from a policy of protectionism to one where interdependence with other economies was assumed. By pointing out explicitly to the various economic actors in the Irish body politic that ideological change was needed in the formulation of economic policy, the Fianna Fail government of 1957-1961 was able to set out a concrete agenda for the development of the Irish economy by the early 1960s. Export-led industrialisation and economic co-operation with Europe were at the heart of theses new methods. Ultimately Irish economic policy formulation had moved dramatically in an ideological sense in the fifteen years since 1948: the new ideology was a formalised proto corporatist style social democracy which involved all the key players collectively in responsible decision making

The Value of Life Near its End and Terminal Care

Medical care at the end of life, which is often is estimated to contribute up to a quarter of US health care spending, often encounters skepticism from payers and policy makers who question its high cost and often minimal health benefits. It seems generally agreed upon that medical resources are being wasted on excessive care for end-of-life treatments that often only prolong minimally an already frail life. However, though many observers have claimed that such spending is often irrational and wasteful, little explicit and systematic analysis exists on the incentives that determine end of life health care spending. There exists no positive theory that attempts to explain the high degree of end-of life spending and why differences across individuals, populations, or time occur in such spending. This paper attempts to provide the first rational and systematic analysis of the incentives behind end of life care. The main argument we make is that existing estimates of the value of a life year do not apply to the valuation of life at the end of life. We stress the low opportunity cost of medical spending near ones death, the importance of keeping hope alive in a terminal care setting, the larger social value of a life than estimated in private demand settings, as well as the insignificance in quality of life in lowering its value. We derive how an ex-ante perspective in terms of insurance and R&D alters some of these conclusions.

Analysis of international graduate programmes structures for engineering education

This article traces the evolution of graduate study in Engineering in Ireland over three decades. Very few studies have shown the different norms and structures of graduate programmes in Ireland. In this paper, a review of traditional and structured PhD in terms of credit requirements and co-ordination structures is presented. The authors summarise the characteristics of graduate programmes in different universities in Ireland and compare these to those obtained in some of the leading international universities. The implementation of graduate programmes in Ireland is relatively recent and the structure of these programmes is still under development in the different universities. Plans for enhancement of graduate programs and the development of new initiatives to support graduate student academic and professional development are very important for the success of these programmes. The growth in enrolment reflects a broad diversity in background of students which will require not only increased financial resources but an adequate and sound organisational structure in order to move forward

An Empirical Analysis of Cigarette Addiction

We use a framework suggested by a model of rational addiction to analyze empirically the demand for cigarettes. The data consist of per capita cigarettes sales (in packs) annually by state for the period 1955 through 1985. The empirical results provide support for the implications of a rational addiction model that cross price effects are negative (consumption in different periods are complements), that long-run price responses exceed short-run responses, and that permanent price effects exceed temporary price effects. A 10 percent permanent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces current consumption by 4 percent in the short run and by 7.5 percent in the long run. In contrast, a 10 percent increase in the price for only one period decreases consumption by only 3 percent. In addition, a one period price increase of 10 percent reduces consumption in the previous period by approximately .7 percent and consumption in the subsequent period by 1.5 percent. These estimates illustrate the importance of the intertemporal linkages in cigarette demand implied by rational addictive behavior.

On Setting Near-term Climate Policy while the Dust Begins to Settle: The Legacy of the Stern Review

We review the explosion of commentary that has followed the release of the Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, and agree with most of what has been written. The Review is right when it argues on economic grounds for immediate intervention to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, but we feel that it is right for the wrong reasons. A persuasive case can be made that climate risks are real and increasingly threatening. If follows that some sort of policy will be required, and the least cost approach necessarily involves starting now. Since policy implemented in 2007 will not “solve” the climate problem, near term interventions can be designed to begin the process by working to avoid locking in high carbon investments and providing adequate incentives for carbon sequestration. We argue that both objectives can be achieved without undue economic harm in the near term by pricing carbon at something on the order of $15 per ton as long as it is understood that the price will increase persistently and predictably at something like the rate of interest; and we express support for a tax alternative to the usual cap-and-trade approach.Stern Review, climate change, climate policy, social discount rate; risk and equity aversion

Habitat scale variability in the rates of coral reef carbonate framework production and bioerosion on Grand Cayman

Caribbean coral reefs have undergone changes in coral cover, structural complexity and assemblage composition since the 1970s. Although some of the ecological consequences associated with these changes have been well documented, the consequences for ecosystem functions dependent on reef structure are less well understood. In particular, there has been little research into the effects of change, on carbonate production and bioerosion; both are critical controls of structural complexity. Currently, there is only a very limited understanding of how both processes vary within and between different habitat types and what this means for ecosystem functioning. Carbonate framework production and bioerosion were investigated within three habitat types (hardgrounds, Acropora palmata reef and Orbicella reef) under sheltered and exposed wave energy regimes on Grand Cayman. Census based assessments were used, allowing the identification of functionally important species. Additionally, habitat specific calcification rates were measured for calcareous encruster communities to improve estimations of carbonate production; mean rates of calcification ranged from 0.19 to 1.14 G (1G = 1 kg CaCO3 m-2 yr-1) within hardgrounds (4–7 m), Acropora palmata reef (1–8 m) and Orbicella reef habitats (8–15 m) and were significantly higher at wave exposed sites. The rates of bioerosion for two sponge species, Siphonodictyon brevitubulatum and Cliona tenuis, were also measured and new approaches to estimating excavating sponge community bioerosion were developed to improves bioerosion estimates. Mean carbonate framework production was 0.38 G within hardgrounds, 2.65 G within Acropora palmata reef habitat and 3.54 G within Orbicella reef habitat but not significantly different between wave exposure regimes. Calcareous encruster communities, dominated by coralline algae, were identified as key carbonate producers within shallow reef habitats on the exposed south coast. They may be important to the maintenance of reef structure in these degraded reef habitats. Orbicella species were the most important carbonate producers within all reef habitats. Mean total bioerosion was 1.32, 2.27 and 2.28 G within hardgrounds, Acropora palmata reef and Orbicella reef habitats respectively. 4 Total bioerosion was not significantly different between wave exposure regimes for any habitat type, but almost completely dominated by parrotfish (29–86 %). On Grand Cayman, both carbonate framework production and bioerosion were less than that measured in comparative habitats, across the Caribbean, despite the presence of a well-managed marine protected area on the sheltered west coast. The highest rates of net carbonate production occurred in the deepest habitat - Orbicella reef (exposed: +1.45 G, sheltered: +1.07 G). Sheltered and exposed Acropora palmata reef habitat had net production rates of +0.53 and +0.30 G respectively. Hardgrounds were net erosional (-0.94 G). Overall the results suggest a change in the focal point for reef accumulation on Grand Cayman that may alter geomorphology over time. Additionally, Acropora palmata reef habitats are likely to be in a state of accretionary stasis, which may have shutdown reef growth in reef crest environments as carbonate framework produced within these habitats is a major contributor to reef accumulation at the reef crest.Cayman Islands Department of Environmen

The Economic Theory of Illegal Goods: The Case of Drugs

This paper concentrates on both the positive and normative effects of punishments that enforce laws to make production and consumption of particular goods illegal, with illegal drugs as the main example. Optimal public expenditures on apprehension and conviction of illegal suppliers obviously depend on the extent of the difference between the social and private value of consumption of illegal goods, but they also depend crucially on the elasticity of demand for these goods. In particular, when demand is inelastic, it does not pay to enforce any prohibition unless the social value is negative and not merely less than the private value. We also compare outputs and prices when a good is legal and taxed with outputs and prices when the good is illegal. We show that a monetary tax on a legal good could cause a greater reduction in output and increase in price than would optimal enforcement, even recognizing that producers may want to go underground to try to avoid a monetary tax. This means that fighting a war on drugs by legalizing drug use and taxing consumption may be more effective than continuing to prohibit the legal use of drugs.