With increasing numbers of young people participating in higher education in Ireland and a heavy reliance of higher education institutions on state funding, the introduction of an alternative finance system for Ireland has been muted over the past number of years. However, no study has been...

In this paper we utilise microsimulation techniques in the form of an income generation model and a tax/benefit model to estimate both the fiscal and net private return to education at a marginal level. This is carried out empirically using Irish data across the period 1987-2005 and is the first...

We develop and estimate a microeconometric model of household labour supply in four European countries representative of different economies and welfare policy regimes: Denmark, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom. We then simulate, under the constraint of constant total net tax revenue...

Starting with the late 1980s and intensifying after early 1990s, Luxembourg evolved from an industrial economy to an economy dominated by the tertiary sector, which relies heavily on the cross-border workforce. This paper explored the implications of these labour market structural changes for...

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impacts of further trade liberalisation on the agricultural sector in Ireland. In addition to evaluating the aggregate impacts on agricultural production as well as the spill-over effect of this on the non-agricultural sector and for overall Irish GDP,...

The realisation that the world's oceans play an important role in climate regulation and many territory activities, notably food production, coupled with economic changes and the rapid advancement in ocean technology have seen a shift in the perception of the importance of marine resources. This...

This paper presents a simulation-based modelling approach for estimating total visitor numbers and amenity values for prospective non-priced open-access outdoor recreation sites. To begin, the geographic extent of the market for recreation at a policy site is estimated using data from a similar...

Pension systems have recently been under scrutiny because of the expected population ageing threatening its sustainability. This paper’s contribution to the debate is from a political economic perspective as it uses data from a Choice Experiment to investigate individual preferences for an...

This paper considers the use of a “combinatorial optimization” technique in the aggregation of environmental benefit values. Combinatorial optimization is used to statistically match population census data to a Contingent Valuation survey. The matched survey and census information is then...

This paper, using Ireland as a case study, examines the relationship between economic activities and river water quality. The stipulation from the EU water framework directive (WFD) that all surface waters in the EU must be of ‘good ecological status’ by 2015 necessitate a quantitative...