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Publication How (not) to do public policy: Water charges and local property tax(The Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, 2018-09-12) O'Leary, Jim; Galway University FoundationTwo of the most contentious measures introduced as part of the severe fiscal consolidation necessitated by Ireland’s recent economic and financial crisis were the Local Property Tax and water charges. The two measures had an amount in common. Initially it was envisaged that each would raise of the order of €500m annually.1 They also shared a troubled history. Attempts to implement water charges in the 1990s had run into sufficiently strong opposition as to render them a no-go area for policy makers for the next decade or more. The fate of the modest and short-lived Residential Property Tax, abolished in 1997, had a similar inhibiting effect on policy in relation to the taxation of property. The crisis, in particular its catastrophic consequences for the public finances, meant that all bets were off. Revenue-raising measures previously deemed politically unacceptable were forcefully propelled onto the agenda. The first formal indication that government was proposing to reintroduce water charges and a new property tax came in the Fianna Fáil–Green Party Renewed Programme for Government in October 2009, a position that was re-affirmed 12 months later in the same government’s National Recovery Plan, and subsequently in the Programme for Government adopted by the new Fine Gael–Labour administration in March 2011. It is fair to say that at that stage there was no compelling reason to expect that one of these measures would be materially more unpopular or problematical than the other, yet it transpired that one was successfully implemented while the other was a failure, arguably on a scale comparable to the poll tax debacle in the UK in the 1980sPublication The creative edge policy toolkit: from growth to dustainability: supporting the development of the creative economy in Europe’s northern periphery(Creative Edge, 2013) Collins, Patrick; Cunningham, James; Murtagh, Aisling; Dagg, Jenny; |~|1267872|~|The concept of the creative economy first emerged in the mid-1980s in response to a crisis brought about by the decline in manufacturing in many of the world’s most developed economies. The idea suggests a productive convergence between culture, creativity and technology that has the potential to transform the productive relationships held between economy and society. Culture and creativity are high-value growth areas, and a vibrant relationship between culture and creativity enhances the competitiveness of countries, cities, regions and businesses, and is increasingly significant in personal and social development.Publication Overcoming Barriers to Well-Being in Ireland: 2012 Conference Report(Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, 2013-06-08) Hogan, Michael; |~|PRTLI|~|[no abstract available]Publication Whitaker Institute Policy Brief(2012) Raghavendra, Srinivas; |~|With the growing discontent to the Austerity policies in Europe, there is also a growing demand for seeking alternative policies for solving the crisis. The alternative policies would only come about by recognizing the dynamic interplay between the financial sector and the real sector where the trade imbalances were accruing before the crisis, and more importantly by seeking alternative economic theoretic basis for analyzing and solving the crisis. It is in this context, Whitaker Institute in NUI Galway in collaboration with the Economics Discipline at the School of Business and Economics organized a three-day workshop titled "Finance, Sovereign Debt and Eurozone Crisis" in early November in 2012. The outcome of the workshop is this public policy brief that articulates an alternative vision for solving the Eurozone crisis.Publication Economic Impact Assessment: The Creative Sector in the Western Region(Centre for Innovation and Structural Change on behalf of the Western Development Commission, 2011-06) Collins, Patrick; Considine, Aoife; O'Neill, Stephen; Loughery, Jason; Van Egeratt, Chris; Granger, Rachel; Leyden, Kevin; Cunningham, JamesThe 'Creative West' report by the Western Development Commission in 2009 was the first attempt to map out the Creative Sector in an Irish context. This economic impact assessment follows on from that report by assessing the growth potential for the Creative Sector in the Ireland's Western Region resulting from recommendations made by Creative West and has attempted to measure the outcome of these actions through consultation with the sector. This economic impact assessment demonstrates the potential impact of the growth of the sector alone. It also attempts to gauge the spillover impacts of the sector in the region and beyond. Ultimately, this is an extremely difficult exercise such is the far reaching and deeply ingrained nature of creativity in social, economic and cultural senses. In line with the Creative West report, we recognize that the creative sector stimulates innovation in other sectors, plays a key social role and can stimulate both rural and regional development. With this in mind, the region should turn its attention to estimating the costs of not investing in its creative sector. What are the quality of life implications of a place that neglects its creativity? How will it look to outsiders (tourists and business investors) if it fails to combine natural talent with a growing economic sector? What of its lived environment? Without a vibrant local industry, one as forward looking (in terms of conservation and innovation) what will appeal to the youth to stay in the region and help build its economy, society and community.Publication Capabilities & Competitiveness: A Methodological Approach for Understanding Irish Economic Transformation(CISC, NUI Galway, 2010-06) Ryan, Paul; Das, Satyasiba; Tulum, Oner; Giblin, Majella; Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge programme