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The ability to predict business cycle activity is an invaluable skill for governments and policy makers alike, especially before an economy enters a downturn. We analyse causality relationships between key leading economic indicators and economic growth for three countries from 1970 to 2010. We find that while many indicators do not help explain current movements in GDP growth, lags of these indicators do. In addition, the direction of the change and the size of the change in the lagged economic indicators are very important in many cases. This is particularly true for housing indicators.

This special issue includes a number of selected papers that have been presented in the 13th annual INFER (International Network for Economic Research) conference held at the University of East London on the 12th and 13th of September, 2011. The selected papers have in common that they take into account the recent economic crisis, but analyse it from different perspectives. For example, they cover different topics on the debate on economic policy in a globalized and highly integrated world; they address issues concerning the difficulties of small countries competing in highly integrated markets in the EU where fewer macroeconomic policies are available to deal with asymmetric shocks; and they address the issue of the convergence process and in a non-optimal currency area. They also cover the links between the EU countries and the small open economies of the Baltic zone and how these links affect the economic performance of the individual countries. Moreover, the existence of political business cycles in the OECD countries can impose some limitations on the independence of central banks in election periods and may lead to inappropriate monetary policies aiming to obtain political gains. All these issues are discussed taking into account the recent economic crisis and the consequences on the national policies to be taken. In particular, in the first paper of this special issue Marjan Senjur analyses the problems that Small Middle Income Countries (MIC) face when joining the eurozone. Using a descriptive macroeconomic model he shows the difficulties these countries Int Econ Econ Policy (2012) 9:209–211 DOI 10.1007/s10368-012-0217-4

This paper attempts to identify possible spatial markets for the previously neglected area of personal legal services. The market for domestic conveyancing services is examined using data from a telephone survey of solicitor firms. The importance of correctly identifying conveyancing markets is illustrated by analysing summary characteristics of legal services with particular emphasis on an analysis of concentration. The implications of this analysis arise in the policy arena, where previous government attempts to deregulate this market failed. The results show that market structure is endogenous to market fundamentals and therefore arbitrary geographical boundaries are no basis for competition. It is suggested that the deregulation debate concerning this market be reopened. Cet article cherche a reperer une demande eventuelle de services juridiques aux particuliers, ce qui a ete negligee jusqu'a nos jours. A partir des donnees provenant d'une enquete par telephone menee par un cabinet de notaires, on exa...

Reviews the development of Irish housing policy from the eighteenth century to the present. Emphasizes the importance of measuring quality in housing, where housing may be described by a vector of measured characteristics. Undertakes a detailed price determination of these various characteristics using a hedonic model. Explains observed house prices in terms of the various housing characteristics using a hedonic model, from which a set of implicit or “hedonic” prices emerges. Reviews the theoretical basis of such an approach and develops a model specifically for aggregated data, as other studies in this area used disaggregated models. Obtains quantitative estimates of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the housing bundle before and after a series of model transformations. The results indicate the premium associated with certain housing characteristics. They emphasize, in particular, the importance of floor area and location in determining new Irish estate house prices.

The role and importance of knowledge in economic development is a theme that can be traced back to writers such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx and Joseph Schumpeter. These authors dealt with how knowledge was created, its various uses and how to capture knowledge for gain. Later, writers such as Friedrich Hayek developed this field into areas such as the use of knowledge in society and the role of information in markets. In the economics literature, a critical distinction is made between information and knowledge. Information is seen as data that is out there for most, if not all, to see, whereas knowledge is the use and (unique) interpretation of this data. With the development of the World Wide Web, access to information and the cost of collecting information has changed dramatically. This has implications for its value. Anything that is easy to collect is less valuable than something that is more difficult to collect. Furthermore, something that is valuable will be sought by others and therefore needs to be protected against theft.

Ireland's private health insurance market operates on the basis of community rating, alongside open enrolment and lifetime cover. A risk equalisation scheme was introduced in 2003 to bolster community rating. However, in July 2008 the Irish Supreme Court set aside this scheme, on the basis of the interpretation of community rating in Irish legislation. This decision has significant implications for the Irish private health insurance market. This paper reviews the development of the market, focusing in particular on community rating. The breakdown of community rating in a market with multiple insurers with differing risk profiles is discussed. Applying this to the Irish market, it can be seen that the Irish Supreme Court judgment has significant implications for the application of community rating. Specifically, while community rating operates within plans, it no longer operates across the market, leading to high-risk lives paying more, on average, than low-risk lives. It has also led to greater opportunities for insurers to engage in market segmentation. This may have relevance for the design and operation of other community rated markets.

Changes in technology bring new challenges and opportunities for every industry, and the media industry is no different. Today people use mass media, and in particular the Internet, to participate in discussions and debate, to advertise and sell their products, to collect and store knowledge and to interact with the global community on the information super-highway. Given both the fast pace of innovation in the media industry and consumer demands for ever greater media content regulatory authorities are faced with challenging times. In this chapter, the authors examine how vertical mergers, vertical restraints, regulations, and competition policy are impacting on the European and American media industries. The authors examine how the internationalisation of the industry, increased merger activity, and the move towards cross media ownership are impacting on market concentration and diversity. The authors conclude that a balance must be struck between encouraging greater capital flows into the industry to help develop innovation, and the need to protect the public’s long term interest through ensuring competitive markets.

It is not a new idea that knowledge plays an important role in the economy, nor is it a new fact. However, the degree to which knowledge is now generated and exploited, as a means of generating wealth, is immense (United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry, 1998). Lank (1997) argues that human expertise and knowledge are the source of value creation in today’s knowledge intense world economy. Our ability to acquire and distribute information has increased its value to all participants in the economic system (Houghton and Sheehan, 2000). Knowledge is a unique asset to a firm; in the right hands, it can create immense value, however, people can leave the business at any moment in time, taking all their knowledge with them. While many firms now use information technology systems to collect and store knowledge, these systems are worthless unless firms encourage and incentivise knowledge sharing.

This paper tracks the development of the Irish private health insurance market, both in terms of its legislative background and the development of competition. Literature on adverse selection and risk selection is then reviewed. Data from two surveys of consumers are then analysed to determine whether evidence exists of adverse selection or risk selection in the Irish private health insurance market. Both of these issues are relevant in the context of the debate over risk equalisation in the market in Ireland.

The organisation of the workplace is evolving. In many industries, mass production by large, vertically integrated, hierarchically organised firms is being replaced with more flexible forms of both internal organisation and industrial structure (Brynjolfsson & Mendelson, 1993). Work is increasingly accomplished through networks of smaller, more focused enterprises. Added value is generated by ever-changing coalitions, where each member of a coalition specialises in its area of core competence and controls it through the use of strategic partnerships. The information systems (IS) revolution has had an enormous influence on how organisations are managed. Electronic access, communication, and decision support influence several managerial processes and systems including the nature and scope of managerial roles, organisational structure, strategic planning systems, budgeting, performance measurement and review, incentive compensation systems, and knowledge management.

The advent of the World Wide Web and other communication technologies has significantly changed how we access information, the amount of information available to us, and the cost of collecting that information. Individuals and businesses alike collect and interpret information in their decision-making activities and use this information for personal or economic gain. Underlying this description is the assumption that the information we need exists, is freely available, and easy to interpret. Yet in many instances this may not be the case at all. In some situations, information may be hidden, costly to assimilate, or difficult to interpret to ones own circumstances. In addition, two individuals who look at the same information can reach different conclusions as to its value. One person may see it as just a collection of numbers, another sees a market opportunity. In the latter case, information is used in an entrepreneurial way to create a business opportunity. Advances in technology have created opportunities to do this by creating information systems that can support business decision-making activities. Such decision support systems are playing an increasingly important role in determining not only the efficiency of businesses but also as business opportunities themselves through the design and implementation of such systems for other markets and businesses. However all is not easy as it may first seem. Quality decision making and effective decision support systems require high quality information. The implicit assumption in talking about decision support systems is that the required information is always available. It is somewhere “out there” and must just be collated to make use of it. However, very often this is not the case. Information that is scarce or inaccessible is often more valuable and can be the very reason for many firm’s existence. The importance for firms to process information to do with its business environment on issues such as, market trends, events, competitors, and technological innovations relevant to their success is prevalent in the management and IS literature.1 The theme of this article is to analyse the role information plays in managerial decision making at individual, group, and firm level from an economics perspective. We argue that access to information is essential for effective decision making and look at problems associated with insufficient information; the effects that such information deficits have in shaping and designing markets are then explored. We start by exploring the nature of information and the issue of asymmetric information. We examine the different solutions put forward to address information deficits, such as advertising, licensing, and regulation. Finally we conclude by outlining likely future research in markets with information deficits.