Compilation and analysis of integrated regional input-output tables for NUTS 2 regions in Ireland

In 1966, Roy Geary, Director of the ESRI, noted “the absence of any kind of import and export statistics for regions is a grave lacuna” and further noted that if regional analyses were to be developed then regional Input-Output Tables must be put on the “regular statistical assembly line”. Forty-five years later, the lacuna lamented by Geary still exists and remains the most significant challenge to the construction of regional Input-Output Tables in Ireland. The continued paucity of sufficient regional data to compile effective regional Supply and Use and Input-Output Tables has retarded the capacity to construct sound regional economic models and provide a robust evidence base with which to formulate and assess regional policy. This study makes a first step towards addressing this gap by presenting the first set of fully integrated, symmetric, Supply and Use and domestic Input-Output Tables compiled for the NUTS 2 regions in Ireland: The Border, Midland and Western region and the Southern & Eastern region. These tables are general purpose in nature and are consistent fully with the official national Supply & Use and Input-Output Tables, and the regional accounts. The tables are constructed using a survey-based or bottom-up approach rather than employing modelling techniques, yielding more robust and credible tables. These tables are used to present a descriptive statistical analysis of the two administrative NUTS 2 regions in Ireland, drawing particular attention to the underlying structural differences of regional trade balances and composition of Gross Value Added in those regions. By deriving regional employment multipliers, Domestic Demand Employment matrices are constructed to quantify and illustrate the supply chain impact on employment. In the final part of the study, the predictive capability of the Input-Output framework is tested over two time periods. For both periods, the static Leontief production function assumptions are relaxed to allow for labour productivity. Comparative results from this experiment are presented.

Legislative policy, law and competitiveness: a mysterious and difficult relationship in the EU

The Lisbon Agenda places Europe in a uniquely difficult position globally, most particularly as an example of a social and regulatory experiment which many consider to be doomed to failure. The drive towards economic competitiveness has led to a focus on regulation and its effect on entrepreneurship, productivity and business growth but assessing this relationship is complex for a number of reasons. First, not all regulatory effects can be predicted precisely in relation to behavioural outcomes. Path-dependency scholars have also demonstrated that the regulation will have varying effects depending on context. Second, theoretically it is clear that many non-regulatory factors may contribute to economic and competitive success. Third, there is evidence of internal conflict within the Commission as to the relative importance of the Lisbon goals. Finally, the experience of distinct Member States presents challenges both for assessment and prescriptive remedies. The Commission has estimated that the cost of regulatory compliance obligations on businesses in the EU is between 4% and 6% of gross domestic product and that 15% of this figure is avoidable 'red tape' (the term used specifically to signify unnecessary compliance burdens). This article proposes to assess the likely outcomes of de-regulation as we rapidly approach 2010, the year for attainment of the Lisbon goals.

The use of different blood sample preparations in the development of biomarkers for the environmental monitoring of domestic farm animals

The application of biological effect monitoring for the detection of environmental chemical exposure in domestic animals is still in its infancy. This study investigated blood sample preparations in vitro for their use in biological effect monitoring. When peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), isolated following the collection of multiple blood samples from sheep in the field, were cryopreserved and subsequently cultured for 24 hours a reduction in cell viability (<80%) was attributed to delays in the processing following collection. Alternative blood sample preparations using rat and sheep blood demonstrated that 3 to 5 hour incubations can be undertaken without significant alterations in the viability of the lymphocytes; however, a substantial reduction in viability was observed after 24 hours in frozen blood. Detectable levels of early and late apoptosis as well as increased levels of ROS were detectable in frozen sheep blood samples. The addition of ascorbic acid partly reversed this effect and reduced the loss in cell viability. The response of the rat and sheep blood sample preparations to genotoxic compounds ex vivo showed that EMS caused comparable dose-dependent genotoxic effects in all sample preparations (fresh and frozen) as detected by the Comet assay. In contrast, the effects of CdCl2 were dependent on the duration of exposure as well as the sample preparation. The analysis of leukocyte subsets in frozen sheep blood showed no alterations in the percentages of T and B lymphocytes but led to a major decrease in the percentage of granulocytes compared to those in the fresh samples. The percentages of IFN-γ and IL-4 but not IL-6 positive cells were comparable between fresh and frozen sheep blood after 4 hour stimulation with phorbol 12-myrisate 13-acetate and ionomycin (PMA+I). These results show that frozen blood gives comparable responses to fresh blood samples in the toxicological and immune assays used.