This paper analyses the concept of linkages and studies the development and the determinants of inter-firm linkages between electronics firms in Ireland and domestic sub-suppliers using firm level data for 1982 to 1995. We discuss the concept of inter-firm linkages and the effects of linkages....

Irish policy towards foreign direct investment has evolved since the 1950s as a strategy driven primarily by the use of fiscal incentives to enhance the profitability of locating in Ireland, with grants as required to achieve a particular bargaining advantage in competing against alternative...

This paper analyses the sectoral distribution of US investment across EU member countries. We attempt to determine whether investment is sectorally concentrated by country and whether there seems to be any evidence of increased sectoral specialisation in US investment as the EU market has become...

In this paper we provide empirical evidence on the determinants of firm start-up size using data for the manufacturing sector in Ireland, and compare our results with recent findings for Portuguese manufacturing industries (Mata and Machado, 1996). To allow for firm heterogeneity between firm...

This paper suggests that the process of economic integration can generate positive effects for peripheral economies by increasing their attractiveness as a production base for multinational companies. Such investment is likely in the case of goods for which transportation costs are relatively...

Differences in regulations, technical standards and national medical cultures across EU member states created a highly segmented pharmaceutical market in Europe prior to the implementation of the Single Market Programme. The subsequent reduction in non-tariff barriers to trade would be expected...

There is a growing literature measuring research excellence in economics. The h-index is noteworthy in combining quantity and research quality in a single measure of researcher excellence, and its ability to be extended to measure the quantity and quality of the researchers in a department. We...

We use comparable micro level panel data for 14 countries and a set of identically specified empirical models to investigate the relationship between exports and productivity. Our overall results are in line with the big picture that is by now familiar from the literature: Exporters are more...

This paper argues that it is important for public sector reform to be undertaken in tandem with economic reform because the two reform agendas overlap. Ignoring the overlap could lead to services being delivered efficiently but which do not contribute to economic and social progress or represent...