David Begg examines how four small open economies- Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland- have managed the stresses and strains of Europeanisation since the single market came into being, and as fault lines begin to appear within the European integration project. In particular, he drills down into the Irish Polity to see how its institutions have engaged with Europe and how decisions on critical issues like integration, EMU and Social Partnership were reached. He finds that both Ireland and Europe are at a critical juncture for different but interconnected reasons, and identifies the options that are available to them.
This book examines how Ireland’s relationship with the EU was affected by a succession of crises in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The financial crisis, the Brexit crisis and the migration crisis were not of equal significance on the island of Ireland. The financial crisis was a huge issue for the Republic but not Northern Ireland, Brexit had a major impact in both polities, the migration and populism issues were less controversial, while foreign policy challenges had a minimal impact. The book provides a summary of the main features of each of the crises to be considered, from both the EU and the Irish perspective. Ireland and the European Union is the first volume of its kind to provide a comprehensive analysis on British–Irish relations in the context of Brexit. It assesses the Withdrawal Agreement and Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, the devolution settlement and the 1998 Agreement, as well as the European dimension to Northern Ireland’s peace process. The contributors explore a number of policy areas that are central to the understanding of each of the crises and the impact of each for Ireland. Chapters examine issues such as security, migration and taxation as well as protest politics, political parties, the media, public opinion and the economic impact of each of these crises on Ireland’s relationship with the EU.
Swiss citizens continue to enjoy high living standards on a range of dimensions. Economic growth has slowed but the healthy labour market is still supporting incomes and consumption. However, risks to the outlook are building. Monetary policy has been very accommodative but low interest rates are adding to financial risks. Fiscal policy is sound and debt low. There is scope to make greater use of available fiscal space. Adapting to population ageing is becoming pressing. This trend, along with digital transformation, will bring new opportunities for the economy and society, but challenges as well. Policies have not kept up with rising life expectancy, particularly the statutory retirement age. Updating the pension system and lowering barriers to working longer would ensure that workers continue to receive adequate incomes during retirement. Ageing will also pressure health care spending and increase demand for long-term care. Policies to contain costs and reduce fragmentation in the system can help maintain access to quality care. Switzerland is well placed to seize the opportunities offered by new technologies. Addressing the barriers to adoption, improving the availability of information and helping workers adapt will enable firms, individuals and governments to reap the benefits of digitalisation. SPECIAL FEATURE: POLICIES FOR AN AGEING SOCIETY
This book offers new and challenging approaches to business ethics that successfully link theory and practice thereby overcoming lacunae and inadequacies in much of the literature concerning ethics and governance, a theme that recurs with remarkable frequency in the history of business ethics as an academic discipline. This work provides imaginative and innovate proposals for the indispensable coupling of virtue, integrity, and character with global business, finance, and banking. The volume seeks to overcome the marginal status of business ethics in universities, business, and enterprise by demonstrating that virtue ethics is an important step in the direction of an adequate response to the leadership issue. This new edition of a popular work points to new ways of achieving an ever more urgent coalescence of ethics and business. It proposes practical advice and viable suggestions to business people on what is right and wrong in business. The volume makes a vital contribution in the area of education that should serve the ongoing development of top leaders. In the important domain of women in leadership, the volume provides new solutions that break boundaries on the global stage. The work challenges unethical marketing of human images with important implications for citizenship and society. The volume contains creative suggestions for the use of spirituality and human development for the enhancement of business and society. The significantly extended second edition includes an exciting line up of leading academics and practitioners in the audacious hope that something may change for the better in the realms of business and banking.
In international commentary and debate on the effects of the Great Recession and austerity, Ireland has been hailed as the poster child for economic recovery and regeneration out of deep economic and fiscal contraction. While the genesis of Ireland's financial, economic, and fiscal crisis has been covered in the literature, no systematic analysis has yet been devoted to the period of austerity, to the impact of austerity on institutions and people, or to the roots of economic recovery. In this book a group of Ireland's leading social scientists present a multidisciplinary analysis of recession and austerity and their effects on economic, business, political, and social life. Individual chapters discuss the fiscal and economic policies implemented, the role of international, and, in particular, of EU institutions, and the effects on businesses, consumption, work, the labour market, migration, political and financial institutions, social inequality and cohesion, housing, and cultural expression. The book shows that Ireland cannot be viewed uncritically as a poster child for austerity. While fiscal contraction provided a basis for stabilizing the perilous finances of the state, economic recovery was due in the main to the long-established structure of Irish economic and business activity, to the importance of foreign direct investment and the dynamic export sector, and to recovery in the international economy. The restructuring and recovery of the financial system was aided by favourable international developments, including historically low interest rates and quantitative easing. Migration flows, nominal wage stability, the protection of social transfer payments, and the involvement of trade unions in severe public sector retrenchment - long-established features of Irish political economy - were of critical importance in the maintenance of social cohesion.
The 2009 European sovereign debt crisis and the EU’s policy response to it have prompted scholars to re-think whether diverse national models of capitalism can thrive within the European Union (EU). Are some national economic systems better suited to adapt to European integration than others, and if so, why? Contributions within this volume provide a qualified yes to these questions raised, concluding that the EU favors export-led growth models while it penalizes and discourages domestic consumption-oriented growth paths, particularly those that are financed by debt-accumulation. The book questions whether the EU is capable of integrating these diverse capitalist regimes. This volume adds a comparative capitalism perspective to EU integration scholarship in order to demonstrate that ever-closer union is not capable of accommodating diversity in national economic institutions. Chapters in this volume provide an innovative framework for understanding what factors related to European integration impede the economic and political integration of diverse European market economies. While recent comparative capitalism literature highlights that European monetary integration has favored export-led growth regimes, contributions in this volume outline that the EU’s prioritization of export-led growth over domestic-demand led growth is present in other facets of integration, including EU accession, financial integration, the free movement of people, fiscal governance and the Europe 2020 growth strategy. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of New Political Economy.
The experience of one region over 25 years within the European Union forms the basis of an examination of how the EU impacts on a region's economy, on its society and on its particular problems. In the case of Northern Ireland, inclusion in the European Union has coincided with the most sustained campaign of political terrorism in western Europe.
This book contributes fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on patterns of regional production structures, specialization, regional disparities, convergence and divergence processes and evaluation of cohesion policies in both current and future European Union (EU) member states in the context of increased integration. These subjects are addressed in both individual and cross-country analyses using innovative methodologies. The book is an essential reading for a large audience including researchers and policy makers working in the fields of economic integration, transition economics and regional development. The thirteen contributions brought together in this book are the result of recent research undertaken in the framework of a larger project initiated and coordinated by the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) of the University of Bonn on determinants of regional specialization, growth and convergence in the context of European integration. A number of these papers were presented to a conference on “European integration, regional convergence, location of industrial activity and labour market adjustment” initiated by the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn and organized jointly with the Center for European Studies of the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iasi, Romania. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the European Commission Framework Programme and the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn.
Recent times have witnessed a dramatic turn around in Ireland's fortunes. From being a poor and peripheral state, it has emerged as a prosperous, dynamic and self-assured player among the nations of Europe. For many, the Irish experience provides a model of the potential rewards of European integration. But, just how far are changes in Irish society the result of EU membership? What difference has the EU made to Ireland and, for that matter, Ireland to the EU? This major new study of Irish-European relations provides a rich account of Ireland's membership of the EU and the impact of the EU on the institutions, policy and economy of Ireland It will be read with benefit by all who want to further understand what Europe means for Ireland and those wanting to learn from Ireland's experience in a comparative context.
Inhaltsangabe: Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: List of TablesII List of AbbreviationsIII Glossary of Irish TermsIV 1.Introduction1 1.1A brief history2 1.2Ireland: Basic facts5 1.2.1Political system6 1.2.2The peace process in Northern Ireland8 2.From European Community accession to the Maastricht Treaty9 2.1Ireland in the European Community10 2.1.1Ireland's economic performance in the EC11 2.1.2The Irish benefits from the EC12 2.2The Maastricht Treaty13 2.2.1From World War II to the Single European Act14 2.2.2The Single European Act15 2.2.3From the SEA to the Maastricht Treaty16 2.2.4The content of the Maastricht Treaty17 3.Ireland and the Maastricht Treaty19 3.1The Maastricht Treaty and Irish neutrality20 3.2Ireland and Structural Funds22 3.3Community Support Framework 1994-199923 3.3.1The four priorities of the 1994-1999 CSF26 3.3.2National Development Plan 1994-199929 3.4Ireland's attitude towards EMU30 3.5Irish fiscal policy 32 3.5.1The introduction of the single currency34 3.5.2Ireland and the single currency36 3.6The Irish economy37 3.6.1Economic performance in the mid-1990s37 3.6.2Challenges for the Irish economy 40 3.6.3Impacts of the single currency42 3.7EMU and public opinion 43 3.8Evaluation of the Maastricht Treaty47 4.Conclusion49 Bibliography53 Appendix57 For further information about the contents of this thesis we will be happy to send the abstract and a text sample to you free of charge and without obligation. Please send us an e-mail to [email protected] or a fax to ++49 (0)40 655 99 222 or call us at ++49 (0)40 655 99 20 and we will forward the requested documents to you as soon possible.
