Media updates from the Economic Policy Centre
Latest updates from the Economic Policy Centre.
External Media

Spend it like Stormont - A focus on public finances
12 June 2019
Our public services are under pressure like never before” is the opening line of Below the Radar TV’s documentary for BBC Northern Ireland on public finances in Northern Ireland.
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External Media

UUEPC Advisory Board Appointee
6 November 2018
The Ulster University Economic Policy Centre appoints Gerry McGinn as an independent member to its Advisory Board
Opinion

Real case of glass half full or half empty. NI best growth of service exports 2015-16. But low base
24 October 2018
On Wednesday the UK statistics agency (Office for National Statistics) published new (experimental) data relating to levels of service sector exports from each of the major UK regions/nations.
External Media

16 October 2018
Northern Ireland’s economic performance continues to remain broadly positive. Unemployment is near record lows and the economy is undergoing the process of rebalancing to be more private sector-led through a booming jobs market.
Opinion

A shrinking economy leads to missing billions: Negative NI growth in Quarter 1 2018
19 July 2018
NI output indicated as 0.3% down in Q1 2018. Even more significant the growth wedge NI compared to UK average continues. Here 6% below peak. There up 10%.
External Media

NHS at 70: Time for the big questions
3 July 2018
The NHS has had its achievements. Life expectancy is up by 13 years in England since 1948. However, many indicators imply there is a growing gap between the UK and many other countries.
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Opinion

NHS at 70: Many happy returns or quite sickly?
29 May 2018
The 5 July will mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. This anniversary marks a good point at which to ask questions about how well the NHS been performing and whether the funding model is sustainable?
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Opinion

The 1998 Belfast Agreement and the Economy
30 March 2018
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the 1998 political agreement there is an understandable interest in how the economy has performed over the last 20 years.
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Opinion

Some progress in NI labour market but still a mixed picture
23 March 2018
Wednesday’s data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) show continued decline in unemployment to 3.2% in the quarter November 2017-January 2018.
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External Media

Changes to the Northern Ireland economy since the Belfast Agreement
20 March 2018
Twenty years on, the Agreement has obviously been very important in political terms but how much difference has it made to Northern Ireland’s economic life?
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Opinion

NI and the UK Spring Statement: Reasonable short term prospects but longer term much less clear
13 March 2018
Last Autumn Chancellor Hammond indicated that instead of two major fiscal events each year, he would consolidate this into a main Budget each Autumn and a Spring Statement each March.
Opinion

NI’s Budget and UK Spring Statement coming along: What to expect
7 March 2018
Two major budgetary events may coincide next week, with the Northern Ireland Budget and the first UK Spring Statement where the Chancellor will respond to latest OBR forecasts.
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Opinion

Northern Ireland’s productivity shortfall continues in the most recent data
12 February 2018
The latest ONS productivity data confirm substantial NI productivity shortfall during early 2000s-2016. And little sign of narrowing of that gap in recent years
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External Media

Bridging Budgetary Gaps: Scotland and Northern Ireland
30 January 2018
Is there anything we can learn from the recent Scottish Draft Budget 2018-19 in comparison to the Department of Finance Briefing on Northern Ireland Budgetary Outlook 2018-20?
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Opinion

Our greatest economic challenge: Low productivity
25 January 2018
Keynote Address by Dr Esmond Birnie to Vodafone’s Productivity Nation Conference (25 January, Titanic Drawing Rooms)
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Opinion

24 January 2018
On the eve of Burns’ Night, is there anything Northern Ireland can learn from Scotland’s draft Budget for 2018-19?
Opinion

The Month of Two Budgets: What to expect in the UK Budget 2017
22 November 2017
This is an new institution- a single, annual UK Budget instead of the previous pattern of a March Budget and an Autumn Statement.
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Opinion

Deal or No Deal: Economic consequences of creeping Direct Rule
26 October 2017
At the end of this week, Northern Ireland may be entering a political twilight zone or the shadowlands- the gap between two deadlines (as previously stated by the Secretary of State).
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Opinion

What the OECD makes of the Northern Ireland economy
20 October 2017
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is one of the leading international economic commentators
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