This paper considers Ireland's banking crisis from the perspective of behavioural economics. It assesses whether known biases in judgement and decision-making were instrumental in the development and severity of the crisis. It investigates evidence that key decision-makers, including consumers,...

We present a theory of exchange that provides an alternative explanation for the endowment effect. Unlike standard neoclassical theories and Prospect Theory, our approach is not based on preference structure, but on adaptive responses to the problem of exchange when value is uncertain. We...

We critically examine and empirically test the hypothesis that the strong socioeconomic gradients characterising attendance at arts events result from similar gradients in preferences for the arts, in line with existing theories of demand for the arts derived from orthodox consumer theory. To...

In the absence of longitudinal data, recall data is used to examine participation in sport. Techniques of survival analysis are adapted and applied to illuminate the dynamics of sporting life. The likelihood of participation has a distinct pattern across the life-course, rising to a peak at 15...

This report examines the impact of social disadvantage on various forms of participation in sport, using data from more than 3,000 Irish adults. It found those with low income or low educational attainment are many times less likely to participate. This effect is so strong that the large...