Cullinan J., Garvey E. and Keane M. Investigating the determinants of relative economic performance for Irish towns: a finite-mixture modelling approach, Regional Studies. This paper uses a finite-mixture modelling approach to investigate the likely determinants of relative economic performance for Irish towns. The main argument put forward is that determinants of success can act in different ways for different groups of towns and the modelling approach differentiates towns on the basis of their relationship between performance measures and likely performance determinants. The results suggest that determinants of success such as centrality and road quality, capacity and functional score, as well as the population size of supporting and competing hinterlands have very different impacts on different groups of towns, highlighting heterogeneity in the way in which different factors impact economic performance.

The cost of a child is estimated using information from the household budget surveys from 1987 to 2004. We use an Engel method, where the share of household expenditure on food and a broader basket of necessities both act as proxies for the material standard of living. The cost of a child is also disaggregated according to age, gender and the income status of the family. We find that older children are more costly than younger children and that children cost proportionately more in lower income households. The gap between the cost of children for lower and higher income households has increased over time. Our findings on the cost of children according to age are consistent with international findings and previous results for Ireland. Our results on the cost of children according to the income status of their families are consistent with the results of international studies using comparable methods.

The Effectiveness of Peer Tutoring on Student Achievement at the University Level by Vincent G. Munley, Eoghan Garvey and Michael J. McConnell. Published in volume 100, issue 2, pages 277-82 of American Economic Review, May 2010

Previous studies that have attempted to model the participation decision of farmers in agri-environmental schemes have used a static framework where it was not possible to examine changes in the participation decision of farmers over time. This is rectified in this paper by utilising an 11-year panel that contains information on 300 farmers for each year. The structure of this dataset allows us to employ discrete time duration random effects panel data logit models to model the determinants of entering the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS). We introduce a dynamic element into a number of the models by using the random effects logit model estimator, with lagged dependent variables as additional explanatory variables. The results point to the fact that systems of farming that are more extensive and less environmentally degrading remain those most likely to participate in the REPS. In addition, the results highlight the fact that where no attempt is made to control for unobserved heterogeneity or path dependency the effects of the farm- and farmer-specific characteristics may be overestimated.

Recently, there have been more debates on the methods of measuring efficiency. The main objective of this paper is to make a sensitivity analysis for different frontier models and compare the results obtained from the different methods of estimating multi-output frontier for a specific application. The methods include stochastic distance function frontier, stochastic ray frontier, and data envelopment analysis. The stochastic frontier regressions with and without the inefficiency effects model are also compared and tested. The results indicate that there are significant correlations between the results obtained from the alternative estimation methods.

In this paper we argue that there is scant justification for replacing the traditional fixed‐basket Laspeyres price index with so called ‘true cost of living indices’. We begin with a discussion of the possible explanations for some empirical results for inflation found for different social groups in Ireland in the late 1990s. Our arguments concerning appropriate inflation indices are primarily ethical and are not dependent on these results being interpreted in a non‐neoclassical vein. They do however gain extra force if one accepts non‐neoclassical explanations for the empirical results. We go on to draw conclusions as to how best to measure the welfare effects of changes in the price of goods. This links in to the broader debate regarding objective versus subjective measures of welfare.

This paper analyses the socio-economic determinants of national suicide rates. Panel estimation techniques have been used with international data and national regional data to test the effects of a variety of social and economic variables on suicide rates. This paper tries to improve on the specifications used in previous models. We take account of the time series properties of the data in our empirical work. We found that it was plausible that the four designated I(1) independent variables (Gini, unemployment, GDP per/capita and alcohol consumption) were cointegrated with suicide rates. The results of the cointegrating model suggest that income inequality is an important determinant of suicide for men in OECD countries, as is alcohol consumption. GDP per capita is important for both sexes. Language: en

We adapt the standard random utility model to take account of the heterogeneity of recreational preferences by using what we call a “skilled-based conditional logit framework”. By separating out our sample of whitewater kayakers into two exogenously identifiable groups (based on their skill level) and running separate conditional logits for each group we are able to take account of the fact that kayakers of different skill levels are looking for different characteristics from the whitewater site they choose to visit. We find that not taking into account the differences in the skill of the kayakers and the grade of the river will result in an overestimation of the welfare estimates associated with improvements to lower grade whitewater sites (which are frequented by basic/intermediated proficiency level kayakers) and underestimating welfare estimates associated with changes in the attributes of higher grade whitewater sites (which are frequented by advanced proficiency level kayakers).

Keane M. J. and Garvey E. (2006) Measuring the employment effects of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme, Regional Studies 40, 359–374. The paper presents evidence on the effectiveness of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme introduced by the Irish Government in 1998. The rationale for the scheme puts the emphasis on new economic activity and economic growth in the designated area. Thus, it is legitimate to look for positive employment impacts as a primary outcome of the tax scheme. The empirical results suggest that the tax scheme has had positive effects on the numbers of people unemployed in the tax area. However, using available estimates of the costs of the scheme, these employment gains are not significant enough for the scheme to pass an efficiency test. Keane M. J. and Garvey E. (2006) Measuring the employment effects of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme, Regional Studies 40, 359–374. The paper presents evidence on the effectiveness of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme introduced by the Irish Government in 1998. The rationale for the scheme puts the emphasis on new economic activity and economic growth in the designated area. Thus, it is legitimate to look for positive employment impacts as a primary outcome of the tax scheme. The empirical results suggest that the tax scheme has had positive effects on the numbers of people unemployed in the tax area. However, using available estimates of the costs of the scheme, these employment gains are not significant enough for the scheme to pass an efficiency test. Projets fiscaux ruraux, Effets emploi, Modèles d'effets fixes, Analyse coûts-avantages Keane M. J. and Garvey E. (2006) Measuring the employment effects of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme, Regional Studies 40, 359–374. The paper presents evidence on the effectiveness of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme introduced by the Irish Government in 1998. The rationale for the scheme puts the emphasis on new economic activity and economic growth in the designated area. Thus, it is legitimate to look for positive employment impacts as a primary outcome of the tax scheme. The empirical results suggest that the tax scheme has had positive effects on the numbers of people unemployed in the tax area. However, using available estimates of the costs of the scheme, these employment gains are not significant enough for the scheme to pass an efficiency test. Ländliches Steuersystem, Auswirkungen auf die Erwerbstätigkeit, Modelle festgelegter Wirkung, Kosten-Nutzenanalyse Keane M. J. and Garvey E. (2006) Measuring the employment effects of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme, Regional Studies 40, 359–374. The paper presents evidence on the effectiveness of the Rural Renewal Tax Scheme introduced by the Irish Government in 1998. The rationale for the scheme puts the emphasis on new economic activity and economic growth in the designated area. Thus, it is legitimate to look for positive employment impacts as a primary outcome of the tax scheme. The empirical results suggest that the tax scheme has had positive effects on the numbers of people unemployed in the tax area. However, using available estimates of the costs of the scheme, these employment gains are not significant enough for the scheme to pass an efficiency test. Regímenes fiscales en zonas rurales, Efectos en el empleo, Modelos de efectos fijos, Análisis de costes y beneficios

The objective of this paper is to examine the factors affecting both participation in an off-farm job and the number of hours worked off-farm by couples in farm households in an Irish region. Data from 278 farm households in Co. Mayo was analysed to this end. A multivariate examination of key characteristics, using cluster analysis, was carried out to classify households into different clusters. The analysis comes reasonably close to picking out the four regimes suggested by the presented theoretical model, that is a cluster in which neither the operator or spouse work off-farm, one in which only the spouse works off-farm, one in which only the operator works off-farm, and one in which both work off-farm. This analysis is followed by an econometric analysis of farm operator and spouse labour supply decisions. Both bivariate probit models and multivariate logit models are used to estimate the off-farm labour force participation of operators and spouses. The participation models are followed by estimations of off-farm hours of work supplied by the couple, using appropriate sample selection procedures. For operators, the driving characteristics influencing off-farm labour participation and hours supplied are farm and location characteristics. In contrast, family demographics and education level appear to influence off-farm labour participation and hours supplied by the spouse.

This paper questions the alleged superiority of superlative prices indices (like the Fisher index) over more standard base year indices (like the Laspeyre index) as measures of changes in the “cost of living” (COL). The primary basis of our challenge is the “subjective” concept of welfare favoured by neo-classical economists. As shown by our results, a subjective welfare approach is relatively disadvantageous to those exhibiting more flexible preferences. Given that flexible behaviour could be a characteristic of the more income constrained and the not unreasonable possibility that preferences are income determined, the neo-classical COL approach is problematic in its axiomatic foundations, in its informational requirements and from an equity perspective. By contrast, with base year indices we objectively know what it is we are measuring. This is consistent with the defence by Sen (1985) and others of objective measures of welfare, which are also more conducive to progressive social policy than are subjective utility measures.

This paper analyses the relationship between social capital and population health. The analysis is carried out within an econometric model of population health in 19 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries using panel data covering three different time periods. Social capital is measured by the proportion of people who say that that they generally trust other people and by membership in voluntary associations. The model performs well in explaining health outcomes. We find very little statistically significant evidence that the standard indicators of social capital have a positive effect on population health. By contrast, per capita income and the proportion of health expenditure financed by the government are both significantly and positively associated with better health outcomes. The paper casts doubt upon the widely accepted hypothesis that social capital has a positive effect on health and illustrates the importance of testing this kind of hypothesis in an extended model.

Abstract Published Irish figures for inflation are generally based,on price changes,of abasket,of goods ,consumed ,by the ,‘average consumer’. Inflation figures are also published for smaller baskets of food, clothing and other products. However, none of these,figures gives any ,information ,on price ,changes ,for different socio-economic groups,within the country. Using data ,from ,the Household ,Budget ,Survey ,we reconstructed,inflation figures to reflect how ,price developments ,impacted ,on the lowest income,groups,from 1989 to 2001. We also calculated the index for the lowest income,groups,in urban,and,in rural areas. All three indices were,then compared,to the published ,State measure. ,We find ,that from 1989 to 1996 all the indices were similar but that from 1996 to 2001 prices rose substantially more,for the Urban Poor