This paper studies the impact of changes in the external balance of Pakistan. We explain why the economic growth achieved during the past decade was highly dependent on improvements in the external balance. Between 2001 and 2007, Pakistan benefited from an increase in remittances, foreign...

Benefits and taxes vary greatly across the European Union owing to incongruent welfare and taxation systems. This paper analyzes how welfare states achieve insurance and equity objectives for residents who work in other countries. The aim is to evaluate the impact of unemployment benefits and...

Farmers participating in agri-environmental schemes (AESs) that are aimed at protecting biodiversity should ideally make decisions relating to the ecological management of their farms based on the habitat types found on their farms. In reality, a variety of economic, demographic, farm and farmer...

The concerns regarding the economic insecurity stemming from earnings instability have been gaining momentum in the contemporary political discourse. If earnings instability is as a proxy for risk, for risk-averse individuals, increasing earnings instability bears substantial welfare costs....

This paper describes the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Ireland for the year 2005. The SAM describes the full circular flow of money and goods in the Irish economy. The SAM includes 55 activities, 55 commodities, two factors of production (capital and labour), one account...

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...