http://hdl.handle.net/10468/761 2013-05-21T22:01:23Z http://hdl.handle.net/10468/774 Decomposing European NUTS2 regional inequality from 1980 to 2009: national and European policy implications Doran, Justin; Jordan, Declan Purpose - This paper analyses income inequality for a sample of fourteen European countries and their composite regions using data from the Cambridge Econometrics regional dataset from 1980 to 2009. The purpose of the paper is to provide insight into the dynamics of regional and national cohesion among the EU-14 countries studied. Design/methodology/approach - Initially, inequality is decomposed using the Theil coefficient into between and within country inequality to assess the extent to which convergence has occurred. To investigate the underlying causes of the changes in inequality, the Theil coefficient is further decomposed to assess the contribution of productivity and employment-population ratio differentials to inequality. Findings - The results indicate that while between-country inequality has declined, within-country inequality has increased by approximately 50 percent. Subsequent decomposition indicates that while productivity levels among regions have converged, the employment-population ratios have diverged substantially driving increasing levels of inequality. This suggests that while EU cohesion policies have reduced productivity inequalities they have had little effect in stimulating convergence of employment-population ratios across regions.Research limitations/implications - The paper argues that national priorities, particularly in the context of the current European economic crisis, are likely to hinder European Union level policies to reduce income inequality at a regional level. This may result in further increases in regional inequality among European regions. Originality/value - This paper's main contribution is to highlight how national convergence can lead to regional divergence being overlooked. The value of the paper is that it provides policy insights, based on empirical evidence, for European cohesion policy. 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1001 Becoming a CEO: an exploration of the theory and practice of effective organisational leadership O'Keeffe, Niall This Thesis is an exploration of potential enhancement in effectiveness, personally, professionally and organisationally through the use of Theory as an Apparatus of Thought. Enhanced effectiveness was sought by the practitioner (Subject), while in transition to becoming Chief Executive of his organization. The introduction outlines the content and the structure of the University College Cork DBA. Essay One outlines what Theory is, what Adult Mental Development is and an exploration of Theories held in the Authors past professional practice. Immunity to change is also reflected on. Essay Two looks at the construct of the key Theories used in the Thesis. Prof. Robert Kegan’s Theory of Adult Mental Development was used to aid the generation of insight. The other key Theories used were The Theory of The Business, Theory of the Co‐operative and a Theory of Organisational Leadership. Essay Three explores the application of the key Theories in a professional setting. The findings of the Thesis were that the subject was capable of dealing with increased environmental complexity and uncertainty by using Theory as an Apparatus of Thought, which in turn enhanced personal, professional and organisational effectiveness. This was achieved by becoming more aware of the Theories held by the practitioner, the experiences from the application of those Theories, which then led to greater insight. The author also found that a detailed understanding of the Theory of the Business and a Theory of Leadership would support any new CEO in the challenging early part of their tenure. 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10468/780 The effects of the frequency of spatially proximate and distant interaction on innovation by Irish SMEs Doran, Justin; Jordan, Declan; O'Leary, Eoin This paper tests whether more frequent interaction at different spatial levels has a positive effect on the innovation performance of SMEs in the South-West and South-East of Ireland.  Based on an original survey, it finds that more frequent interaction generally increases innovation likelihood, but at a diminishing rate, thus suggesting a trade-off between resources dedicated to transforming knowledge into new products and processes.  Spatially distant interaction is found to be at least as valuable as proximate interaction, which questions the received wisdom that the best sources of knowledge are regional.  Given the value of distant interaction, the results indicate that regional lock-in may be an obstacle to superior innovation performance of SMEs. 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10468/784 Participation, expenditure and regressivity in the Irish lottery: evidence from Irish household budget survey 2004-05 Crowley, Frank; Eakins, John; Jordan, Declan This paper estimates, using the most recent Irish Household Budget Survey of 2004/2005, a double hurdle model to determine the socio-economic and socio-demographic factors affecting participation and expenditure of Irish households on the national lottery. Of particular interest is the effect of income on the decisions of how much participants spend on the lottery. The paper also determines the extent to which the tax inherent in lottery purchases is regressive in its incidence on purchasers. It is found that gender, social class, marital status, the presence of children in the home and household size significantly effects lottery participation.  Lottery expenditures are affected by income, location of the household, gender, age, education, social class and whether the household has positive betting expenditures. Furthermore, there is evidence that the implicit lottery tax is regressive and that the allocation of lottery proceeds does not compensate for this regressivity. 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z