Ninth Level Ireland

“Women economists are under-represented across the discipline, from university departments to academic conferences and publishing houses. This column focuses on the editorial process and asks whether the referees and editors of four leading economics journals made gender-neutral publishing decisions between 2003 and 2013 …” (more)

[David Card, Stefano DellaVigna, Patricia Funk and Nagore Iriberri, Vox, 8 January]

“Almost half of female economists have experienced gender discrimination, according to an American Economic Association survey that also included hundreds of reports of assault and harassment. 48% of women reported unfair discrimination based on sex and 22% experienced bias for their marital status or caregiving responsibilities …” (more)

[Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg, 18 March]

“Erin K Fletcher, an economist with the global, nonprofit health-and-education organization Results for Development, feels so strongly about her field’s problem with sexism that she left academe. Fletcher was one of many women who spoke out last week at the American Economic Association’s annual meeting, in Atlanta …” (more)

[Lily Jackson, Chronicle of Higher Education, 11 January]

“The economics profession is facing a mounting crisis of sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying that women in the field say has pushed many of them to the sidelines – or out of the field entirely. Those issues took center stage at the American Economic Association’s annual meeting …” (more)

[Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 10 January]

“Louden Ryan, one of the State’s most influential economists and one of Trinity College Dublin’s most charismatic professors, has died, at the age of 95. Ryan played a seminal role in forming Irish economic policy in the 1960s, advising civil servant TK Whitaker and then taoiseach Seán Lemass on a series of economic plans that would reverse decades of protectionism and self-defeating economic policies …” (more)

[Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Irish Times, 21 November]

“Prof Martin O’Donoghue, one of Ireland’s most significant but controversial politicians of recent times, has died in his native Dublin, aged 85. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin described him as ‘a true gentleman and committed public representative’ …” (more)

[Irish Times, 28 July]

“Last night, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, delivered a splendid lecture with the title ‘Uses and Abuses of Economics in the Debate on Universities’. It is not possible to do this justice in a brief report, but I aim here to give a synopsis of the main arguments …” (more)

[The lecture itself is here]
[Dorothy Bishop, CDBU, 27 January]

“I dare you to do something. Fetch a piece of paper and write something on it: the names of five famous female economists. Go on, off you go. And no cheating – no googling on your iPhone. It’s hard, isn’t it? …” (more)

[Frances Weetman, New Statesman, 3 February]

“NUI Galway is investigating an issue which arose with an exam paper this week.The university has not confirmed the nature of the problem, but according to Galway Bay FM, the answers to the questions were included on the paper …” (more)

[Connacht Tribune, 8 December]

“The publication of the long delayed and much leaked Cassells report on third level financing is both welcome and depressing. It is welcome in that finally there is a clear and unambiguous analysis of the financial mess in which the sector finds itself …” (more)

[Brian M Lucey, 16 July]

“The publication of the long-delayed and much leaked Cassells Report on third-level financing is both welcome and depressing. It is welcome in that finally there is a clear and unambiguous analysis of the financial mess in which the sector finds itself …” (more)

[Brian Lucey, Irish Examiner, 18 July]

“Brendan Walsh, emeritus professor of national economics at University College Dublin (UCD), was an inspiring teacher and foremost in his generation researching Ireland’s economic and social problems …” (more)

[Independent, 23 May]

“Prof Brendan Walsh, who died suddenly age 76, was a hugely influential Irish economist. Walsh was the youngest of four children. His father was a civil servant; his mother and her sister ran Curtins, a women’s clothing shop in Talbot Street, Dublin …” (more)

[Irish Times, 28 May]

“The death has taken place of Prof Brendan Walsh, former head of economics at UCD and one of Ireland’s foremost economists. He was 76. Dr Walsh, a familiar figure in media discussions, was professor of national economics at UCD from 1980 until his retirement in 2005 …” (more)

[Arthur Beesley, Irish Times, 21 May]

“In the years following the global financial crisis, the academic study and teaching of economics has come in for a bashing. In fact, it has faced the kind of fundamental criticism rarely directed towards entire disciplines. The apparent failure of economists to predict, let alone prevent, the 2008 crash has led to accusations that conventional economic teaching cannot adequately explain the complex dynamics and risks of modern economies …” (more)

[Daniel Cullen, Guardian, 28 April]

“The Republic of Ireland’s higher education institutions contribute €10.6 billion (£7.8 billion) a year to the country’s economy, a new study indicates. The report by economists from Trinity College Dublin also found that higher education supports 150,000 jobs in the country …” (more)

[Jack Grove, Times Higher Education, 28 December]

“The HEA’s Employment Control Framework creates a paradox for universities. In a move that took many by surprise this week, the government appointed Trinity professor Philip Lane to succeed Patrick Honohan as governor of the Irish Central Bank …” (more)

[University Times, 25 October]

“At least half of papers in economics are not reproducible, a new analysis has found, suggesting that the ‘reproducibility crisis’ in academia is not confined to lab sciences. Researchers from the United States Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury tried to replicate the results from 67 papers across 13 prestigious journals, but even after contacting authors when necessary, they were successful in only 49% of cases …” (more)

[David Matthews, Times Higher Education, 21 October]

“TCD economics professor Philip Lane is to be nominated as the new Central Bank governor. Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Prof Lane’s ‘outstanding economic, financial and policy making record ideally position him to lead the Central Bank in the coming years’ …” (more)

[Gavin McLoughlin, Independent, 20 October]

“Somebody had the bright idea, in 2000, to review the Leaving Certificate economics syllabus. No doubt this was motivated in part by the fact that not much had changed since the subject was introduced in 1969 …” (more)

[Chris Johns, Irish Times, 8 September]