In this paper, we explore the impact of a housing rent inflation cap of 4 per cent on price changes for tenancy contracts. We assess the implications of the regulations on the share of the market experiencing: 1) a price decline; 2) unchanged rents (nominal rigidity); 3) a positive growth rate...

In this paper, we implement a new measure, the rental equivalence approach, in estimating the cost of Irish housing for the purposes of the consumer price index (CPI). The cost of housing composes both the cost of owner occupier housing (OOH) as well as the cost of renting. This work, which is...

Small and medium enterprises have been shown to rely mainly on banks for funding and, unlike larger firms, rarely have direct access to capital markets. This paper looks at the extent to which SMEs avail of a wider range of funding options and how their use differs across firms and countries....

The years before the financial crisis saw a dramatic build-up in private debt levels in several countries and this increase was particularly marked in Ireland. In this paper, we look at whether outstanding debt taken out by small and medium sized enterprises in Ireland constrains current...

In this paper, we use firm-level survey data to explore the determinants of SME investment activity and the extent to which observed investment is in line with that suggested by economic fundamentals. In contrast to previous literature which has focused on whether investment gaps exist at a more...

While differences in capital structure between large and small firms have been extensively researched, relatively less empirical evidence is available explaining cross country differences in the capital structure of SMEs over the life cycle. This is an important gap as many of the theoretical...

In this paper, we use new survey data on the Irish SME population to trace out the impact of the pandemic on firms' revenues, their capacity to adjust their cost base and their usage of policy supports. Between March and October 2020 over 70 per cent of firms experienced some fall in turnover...

In this paper, we use a novel survey module to consider investment in health-related expenditures by SMEs following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Using a unique dataset designed to capture expenditure on public health measures, we explore the heterogeneity in expenditure across...

This paper models the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Irish SMEs and extrapolates forward their performance as restrictions ease. Our baseline scenario shows a steady recovery path for the median firm. However, indicators of financial difficulties remain persistently high with the...

While differences in capital structure between large and small firms have been extensively researched, relatively less empirical evidence is available explaining cross country differences in the capital structure of SMEs over the life cycle. This is an important gap as many of the theoretical...