Eleanor Doyle

The role of structural change in labour productivity convergence among European Union countries: 1970‐1990

New evidence is presented on the degree of aggregate and sectoral labour productivity convergence among 11 EU countries between 1970 and 1990. As with studies for other groups of countries, it is found that there is a greater degree of aggregate than sectoral convergence. Aggregate productivity converged at 0.9 percent per annum, with agriculture and manufacturing both diverging and only services converging (0.6 percent p.a.). We contend that structural change provides one explanation for this finding. When measured as changes in sectoral employment shares, structural change accounted for between 50 percent and 66 percent of the overall rate of aggregate productivity convergence among the EU countries over the period. Countries with relatively low levels of aggregate productivity benefited most from structural change.

Export-output causality: The Irish case 1953–93

Despite proposed theoretical relationships, recent empirical research has found no conclusive support for a causal relationship between exports and output. Using the methodological approach based on the statistical theory of cointegration and Granger causality tests, the causal relationship between exports and output is examined here using Irish data. The Johansen technique is used and error-correction modeling is incorporated into the Granger causality tests. Results suggest that exports and GDP are cointegrated. Augmented Granger causality tests indicate support for the export-led growth hypothesis since there is evidence of short-run and long-run causality from exports to output.

Exchange rate pass-through in a small open economy: the Anglo-Irish case

Bilateral import unit values are constructed to investigate the extent and speed of exchange rate and production cost pass-through into the unit values of Irish imports (total and sectoral) from the UK using Menons (1996) mark-up model. The approach used to measure exchange rate pass-through is based on cointegration and error-correction modelling and the period of analysis is from 1979 to 1995. Full pass-through from the bilateral Irish pound–Sterling exchange rate and from UK producer costs could not be rejected for total and sectoral import unit values for the sample period 1979q1–1995q4. This implies no role for domestic competing prices in explaining the long-run relationship determining unit values of Irish imports from the UK. The results indicate that for aggregate and sectoral unit values of Irish imports from the UK pass-through is incomplete in the short-run.

Compliance obstacles to competitiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain the competitiveness obstacles that European businesses face, which, if not addressed, limit the potential of the EU economy, particularly in terms of the Lisbon goals. Adopting a broadly defined compliance‐centred approach, the paper seeks to identify how some significant competitiveness obstacles of European business might best be addressed.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews in 44 multinational and medium‐sized companies were used to investigate compliance requirements, the tools and methods used to manage compliance, compliance‐related obstacles to competitiveness. A survey of four European Information Centres was conducted to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving their stated mission.Findings – Organisations lacked systems to proactively manage compliance to allow them to deepen or sustain their competitive positioning. Companies were concerned with the reliability and comprehensiveness of reports on compliance risks and how these cou...

Structural change in Ireland: The contribution of sectoral employment distribution to labour productivity convergence between Ireland and the EU: 1970‐1990

The secular transformation in Irish sectoral employment shares, which has been stimulated by the change in focus of both Irish industrial and trade policies, mirrors the significant changes that have occurred in international structures of production. Estimates the contribution of changes in Ireland’s sectoral employment structure to labour productivity convergence between Ireland and the EU average from 1970‐1990. Identifies the variation in Irish sectoral employment distribution over time as a significant source of labour productivity convergence. Ireland’s labour productivity convergence was 0.3 per cent per annum higher as a result of shifts in Irish employment distribution than would have occurred without changes in the structure of Irish employment.

From Marshall’s Triad to Porter’s Diamond: added value?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer clarity on a central concept introduced in Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations, i.e. the cluster. The authors situate the concept introduced by Porter (1990) relative to two of its antecedents, the industrial district and industrial complex. Placing the cluster in a historical context permits consideration of the extent to which it, as a concept for analysis, may be differentiated from other geography-based approaches to economic phenomena. In this way, this paper examines the added value of the cluster concept derived from economic factors. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a detailed literature review tracing the evolution of theories of location and agglomeration into which Porter’s cluster fits. The evolution of Porter’s own conceptualisation of the cluster and how this relates to theoretical clarity surrounding the concept is explored. Comparative analysis of theories of location, agglomeration and clustering is provided to identify similarities and differences across the approaches and identify the added value of the cluster concept in relation to other approaches. Findings Clustering represents a process associated with spatial organisational form which may offer advantages in efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. Cluster benefits can be appreciated through the lens of Young’s (1928) identified sources of increasing returns. A key aspect in clustering is revealed in terms of its role in enabling four sources of increasing returns. The authors outline how these sources of increasing returns are related to “soft” processes of networking, interaction and individual and collective learning. Porter’s Diamond is a self-reinforcing system which can permit increasing returns and reinforce such tendencies of economic activity within agglomerations. Originality/value Added value from Porter’s cluster concept is identified in the context of both its locational anchoring and in terms of its potential for understanding the role of exploitation of increasing returns for development. This points to the importance of focusing on clustering as a process rather than on cluster within typologies of organisational form. This implies that the nature of relationships (and how they change) within and across markets, institutions and actors lies at the heart of clustering because of their roles in knowledge-generation, including innovation, knowledge sharing and upgrading.

Clustering in Ireland: development cycle considerations

Abstract Motivated by ongoing research into the cluster concept that considers dynamic features of economic development and the cluster life cycle, differences between traded clusters and local activity across different spatial scales are examined for Ireland. Using recent cluster definitions for Europe, this paper presents clustering patterns within the Irish economy from 2008 to 2012. We report on data requirements when applying the benchmark cluster definitions to Irish data. Integrating small, open economy features with life-cycle concerns, we focus on specific clusters in Ireland, along with their export performance, noting that appropriate cluster boundaries are neither regional nor national. Analyses indicate that while Ireland hosts a number of internationally competitive clusters, foreign-owned firms remain substantially more productive than indigenous enterprises. We identify the geographical location of these prominent clusters at the NUTS-3 regional level and highlight the role of regional features for differences in adaptive cycles of clusters. We identify a substantial portion (60%) of Irish regional wage variation relates to the different cluster mixes across regions.

Compliance–innovation: integrating quality and compliance knowledge and practice

Motivated by a gap in the literature linking compliance and innovation, this paper develops the novel concept of Compliance–Innovation (C–I). Based on a review of the literature and interviews with experienced practitioners, we characterise C–I as a transformational process to drive organisational improvements in sustainability and competitiveness. We explain how the organisational mechanism that permits identification and exploitation of knowledge for commercial purposes, i.e. Absorptive Capacity, may be enlarged through application of C–I because both external and internal contexts are appropriately and comprehensively incorporated. C–Is roots lie in the integration of quality and compliance knowledge into a central IT repository, and its potential for commercial exploitation through, for example, the Six Sigma approach is outlined – indicating its usefulness for orienting business focus, performance and innovation.

Rethinking Irish cluster policy

For almost thirty years the cluster concept and cluster policy have retained strong traction across both academic and policymaking circles. In this paper we select issues of current relevance, particularly for policymaking, from contexts of the evolution of understanding of the concept, the experience of implementing policy and ongoing research. The next section sets out key features of the cluster concept from its roots in Porter’s work (1990, 1998) and in well-worn considerations relating to agglomeration and innovation. Cluster policy experience is examined in the following section, in relation both to the Irish case and to international, mainly European, approaches and experience. For Ireland, a lack of an agreed, consistent or clear definition of cluster is revealed across policy documents and practice. The import ance of amplifying connectivity between cluster members is considered fundamental to future cluster performance across regional and sectoral boundaries. This is increasingly important for innovation imperatives. The next section argues that to close the gap between government commitment to revising Irish cluster policy on the one hand and its

Pedagogical Strategy, Design Strategy, and Positioning of Practitioner Doctorate: Grounding Business Practice in Subjectivism and First-Person Research in an Irish Institution

For the practitioner doctorate program offered at the School of Economics, University College Cork, Ireland, the focus is on enhancing effectiveness of participants’ professional and organizational practice. For this to happen consideration of “personal elements of knowledge” (Polanyi, 1966, p. 11) is required, that is, knowledge as experienced, accumulated, and transformed in both practice and in reflection on practice. Such knowledge is based on “tacit thought … an indispensable part of all knowledge” (Polanyi, 1966, p. 11). While economics as a discipline has over recent decades displayed increasing formalization and mathematization, alternative lines of thought outlined here provide foundations for our program within business economics and business.