News

The urbanising force of global warming

Tom McDermott, SEMRU

The global population is urbanising rapidly. Each year, cities around the world host tens of millions of new inhabitants, particularly in low and middle income countries. While traditionally urbanisation has been associated with a process of structural change and economic development, today many poor countries are urbanising faster and at a much earlier stage of… | Read on »

The use of postal audit and feedback among Irish General Practitioners for the self – management of antimicrobial prescribing

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely regarded as a threat to global public health with the overuse of antibiotics being identified as a key driver of AMR. A widely promoted solution to address the inappropriate prescribing and consumption of antibiotics at multiple levels is that of antibiotic stewardship. Antibiotic stewardship has been described as a collective… | Read on »

RTÉ Brainstorm – Why Paschal Donohoe should introduce new income tax rates

Whitaker Institute member Stephen McNena, of the Performance Management Cluster, has written a new article for RTÉ Brainstorm ahead of Budget 2023. The piece looks why new interest rates should be introduced. Why Paschal Donohoe should introduce new income tax rates Analysis: the Irish tax system is highly progressive and low earners pay zero or… | Read on »

RTÉ Brainstorm – A history of Irish budgets

Whitaker Institute member Dr Aidan Kane, of the Macroeconomics and Finance cluster, has written a new article for RTÉ Brainstorm. The piece looks at Irish budgets historically. A history of Irish budgets Opinion: our fiscal history tells us much about our past and the business of government over many centuries. Budgets are mainly about the… | Read on »

RTÉ Brainstorm – How bullying has become a ‘sinister’ workplace problem

Whitaker Institute member Dr Deirdre Curran, of the Work, Organizations and Society cluster, has written a new piece for RTÉ Brainstorm. The article looks at the ‘sinister’ problem of workplace bullying. How bullying has become a ‘sinister’ workplace problem Opinion: reports, studies and research show the evidence of bullying at work to be truly shocking… | Read on »

RTÉ Brainstorm – Is a wealth tax a good idea?

Whitaker Institute member Stephen McNena, of the Performance Management cluster, has written a new article for RTÉ Brainstorm. The piece analyses the effectiveness of wealth tax. Is a wealth tax a good idea? Opinion: wealth inequality has been rising in recent decades, but questions surround the effectiveness of a pure wealth tax to address this… | Read on »

A century of Irish Economic History Through the Lens of Sustainable Development

Economic historians have examined economic development in terms of output growth for decades. However, only limited research has examined economic history through the lens of sustainable development. After a century of Irish independence, our study, published in the European Review of Economic History, compares a sustainability perspective of Ireland’s economic development with the conventional growth-oriented… | Read on »

Property tax as a source of local government funding

Gerard Turley

Local governments around the world are generally funded by a combination of own-source revenues and grants/transfers from upper tier levels of government. Ireland is no different, with its local authorities funded by a mix of local taxes, fees and charges, and central government grants. The only local tax is property tax. All revenues from the… | Read on »

New Report – Regulation of intermediaries, including tax advisers, in the EU/Member States and best practices from inside and outside the EU

Whitaker Institute member Professor Emer Mulligan, of the Performance Management Cluster, is the lead author on a new report published by the European Parliament, which was commissioned by its Economic and Monetary Affairs’ Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC). The report provides an overview of the regulatory environment of tax intermediaries and a comparative analysis of five… | Read on »