This paper tests whether households that are offered broadband service for the first time tend to delay in taking it up. Using cross-sectional data on broadband take-up and socioeconomic characteristics of small areas in Ireland, linked to GIS data on ADSL availability, I find that local...

This paper examines how local government planning regulations and charges affect the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. We explore the economic rationale for local government regulation of such infrastructure, which we suggest should be based on managing negative externalities....

This paper combines data from a government programme providing broadband access to primary schools in Ireland with survey microdata on schools', teachers' and pupils use of the internet to examine the links between public subsidies, classroom use of the internet and educational performance....

Can improving local infrastructure in underdeveloped areas encourage entrepreneurial activity? If so, which infrastructures and by how much? This paper analyses the impact on new business establishments of broadband infrastructure, motorways, airports and railways and a range of other local...

Despite ongoing efforts by regulatory authorities, there is significant noncompliance with the EU Nitrates Directive among farms in Ireland. Nutrient pollution harms water quality and ecosystems, and farms are subject to fines for noncompliance. This paper examines reasons for noncompliance and...

Governments throughout the western world and beyond are in the midst of a severe financial crisis and emerging from a sharp recession. Ireland is no exception. One of the options for strengthening public finances is the sale of state assets. In this paper we draw on the Irish experience to...

Under European Union proposals for CO2 emission reduction between 2013 and 2020, a Member State can transfer to another Member State the right to use its unused Clean Development Mechanism ('CDMs') credits. The paper addresses three issues in relation to these CDM Warrants ('CDMW'). First, how...

Existing environmental accounts for the Republic of Ireland are at the national level. This is fine for continental and global environmental problems, but information at a finer spatial scale is needed for local environmental problems. Furthermore, the impact of environmental policy may differ...

Under 2013 to 2020 European Union proposals for CO2 emission reduction, a Member State can transfer to another Member State 'part' of their allowed emission allocation in the non-Emission Trading Sector ('ETS'). The paper addresses three questions in relation to these Transfer Emission Units or...

The purpose of this report is to undertake an ex-ante evaluation of the cost effectiveness of alternative radon prevention measures for new build properties in Ireland. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that primarily enters a building by seeping through the ground floor. Radon is the...