Soft Budget Constraints and Regional Industrial Policy: Reinterpreting the Rise and fall of De Lorean

The rise and fall of De Lorean Motor Cars Limited (DMCL) has been traditionally interpreted as the result either of John De Lorean´s psychological flaws or as confirming the supposedly inherent weaknesses in activist industrial policy. However, when the episode is examined in more detail, neither of these interpretations is compelling. This paper´s reinterpretation draws on a range of archival evidence, much of it previously unreleased. The concept of Soft Budget Constraints (SBCs), as pioneered by Kornai, is applied to this evidence. The roles of both government and market failure and the contents of the original contractual agreement are highlighted. The soft budgets promoted by the agreement were in turn traceable to the institutional environment under which industrial policy operated in Northern Ireland. This institutional environment had itself been distorted by the Troubles and the fears policymakers had that a cumulative causation situation existed. Kornai´s framework helps us piece all the evidence together

The Formation of Terrorist Groups: An Analysis of Irish Republican Organizations

AbstractWe examine the history of the organization of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and assess whether Republican terrorism reflected the possession of valuable group-specific human capital within the terrorist cell. The analysis is motivated by economic models of the formation of specialized groups. We also note the public-goods co-ordination problem facing terrorist groups, given their inability to use mainstream enforcement mechanisms. Of particular interest are four well-defined historical examples of factionalism within the IRA. The history of Irish republicanism is consistent with the prediction that increasing the opportunities for cell members outside of life in the organization, particularly through amnesty, destabilizes the organization but leaves a hardcore of remaining terrorists. The gap between terrorist characteristics and those belonging to members of wider society is more gradated than predicted.</jats:p

Industrial Policy in Northern Ireland: Past, Present and Future

In this survey the experience of industrial policy in Northern Ireland is considered and the institutional underpinnings are highlighted. Unlike the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland had a period of devolution (c.1920-1972), which particularly after 1945 was associated with interventionism. In surveying the past, present, and future of such industrial policies, it is important to note the fact that supply-side weaknesses predated the Troubles and while much economic progress has been made since 1998, institutional issues remain. Brexit will provide additional challenges to the formulation of effective industrial policy

Reproductive Failure in UK Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena : Legacy of Pollutant Exposure?

This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the Seventh European Community Framework Programme (Project Cetacean-stressors, PIOF-GA-2010-276145 to PDJ and SM). Additional funding was provided through the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) (Grants SSFA/2008 and SSFA / ASCOBANS / 2010 / 5 to SM). Analysis of Scottish reproductive and teeth samples was funded by the EC-funded BIOCET project (BIOaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in small CETaceans in European waters: transport pathways and impact on reproduction, grant EVK3-2000-00027 to GJP), and Marine Scotland (GJP). Samples examined in this research were collected under the collaborative Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (http://ukstrandings.org/), which is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the UK’s Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales (http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Defaul​t.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=No​ne&Completed=0&ProjectID=15331) (grants to PDJ, RD). UK Defra also funded the chemical analysis under a service-level agreement with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (grants to RJL, JB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

7th Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium

Educational achievement is consistently linked to better employment outcomes for individuals, but navigating through higher education can be particularly challenging for regional, rural, and remote students. Some individuals face additional difficulties linked to personal disability, and a particularly vulnerable group are those individuals with an identified mental health issue. Flexibility in study options can enable many students to access higher education, with distance education, a choice for many living regionally, providing both opportunities and challenges for study. The research presented here is part of a project funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), which explored the lived experiences of individuals with a disability at a regional Australian university. The overall focus for the research was to understand individual resilience and what enables some students with mental health problems to be successful in their educational achievement. The present research draws on findings from semi-structured interviews with nine individuals identifying with mental health difficulties. Subsequent analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach to thematic analysis. The key themes identified were those of disclosure and the decision to register or not with disability services; interactions with ‘faculty’; and strategies for positive educational engagement. We concluded that a major challenge in the higher education sector relates to building disability support services that are responsive to the needs of students with a psychological disability. The findings from this study advance knowledge in understanding what strategies a successful student with a mental health issue draws upon in order to succeed, and what implications this may have for the shaping of student support services

Should the fiscal powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly be enhanced?

<p>Should the fiscal powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly be enhanced? <i>Regional Studies</i>. Northern Ireland has been characterized by an inability to narrow the persistent economic gap relative to Britain. Some commentators have suggested that regional corporation tax variation may be the ‘game changer’ in closing this gap. This paper draws on a range of studies that help one better understand the historical and institutional context. However, the analysis of tax variation is broader than this. Consideration is given as to which taxes might be the most suitable candidates for devolution. While greater tax variations could certainly complement an emphasis on increased competitiveness aimed at improving economic outcomes, they are no substitute for such a focus. As is often the case in institutional and economic development, issues of sequencing and policy capacity are salient.</p

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class II sequence polymorphism in long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) from the North Atlantic

Funding Silvia S. Monteiro and Marisa Ferreira were supported by a Ph.D. grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BD/38735/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/2006, respectively). Alfredo López was supported by a postdoctoral grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). Catarina Eira is supported by CESAM (UID/AMB/50017), from FCT/MEC through national funds and FEDER (PT2020, Compete 2020). The work related with strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea Project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), by the Project MarPro–Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union–Program Life+) and by the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012; FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027472 (Funded by the Program COMPETE and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia).Peer reviewedPostprin