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Paul Sweeney

Paul Sweeney was chief economist with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for a decade.

Paul Sweeney

Inflation in the strongest recovery since 1945

Paul Sweeney 17th June 2021

Governments should ignore siren warnings that only hyperinflation can come from pandemic-induced investments.

An effective corporation-tax system for the EU

Paul Sweeney 4th November 2020

Tax wars have so far denied the EU the unanimity required to stop the race to the bottom on corporation tax.

Ireland’s recovery: from bust to buoyancy … to Brexit?

Paul Sweeney 14th October 2019

If procyclical domestic policies inflated Ireland’s economic bubble, procyclical austerity demanded by the troika which bailed it out makes Ireland’s recovery all the more remarkable.

Ireland’s route from boom to bubble to bust

Paul Sweeney 2nd October 2019

Ireland’s volatile economic path of recent decades has wider European policy implications. Part one: the ‘Celtic Tiger’ and its demise

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 2

Paul Sweeney 9th October 2018

In the first part of his analysis Paul Sweeney pointed to a variety of causes behind the decline of social democracy over the past 30 years or more. In this second part he looks at wider economic and social trends since the 2008 crisis, including the ever-widening gap between rich and poor and growth in […]

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 1

Paul Sweeney 8th October 2018

Introduction Social Democracy (SD) has been the most powerful political force in Europe since the Second World War. It turned the nation state into the welfare state. Its politics built the welfare state and healthcare systems in West European countries. Along with conservatism it was one of the twin pillars of European democracy. Conservatism too […]

What Hope For Civilisation If Apple Pays No Tax?

Paul Sweeney 8th February 2017 1 Comment

Brussels has been accused of “bending the rules” in its pursuit of Apple for €13 billion in taxes it says should have been paid in Ireland. But in truth it is the multinationals and their corporate lawyers and accountants who have twisted the rules on taxation almost out of existence. The tax system had been […]

On Apple Tax, State Must Side With Its Citizens

Paul Sweeney 7th September 2016

It is widely agreed that globalisation has brought immense benefits. But it is also recognised that these benefits are not equally distributed. Last week’s Apple decision demonstrates the complexity of the issue of distributing the benefits of globalisation. The Irish Government, faced with a windfall of some €13 billion, appears to have sided with the […]

Curbing Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion And Tax Havens

Paul Sweeney 14th December 2015

The aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations (MNCs) where they are now paying virtually no tax was highlighted recently by the takeover of “Irish” company Allergan by Pfizer in a blatant tax-avoidance move. Such tax avoidance by these companies is facilitated by sovereign nations in their “tax wars” between each other, vying for foreign investment. They […]

How Globalisation And Technology Drive Insecurity

Paul Sweeney 26th February 2015 2 Comments

People are insecure. Young people worry about getting a decent job, finding a secure home and having to pay off the vast debts run up in the decade of uber-liberal economic policies of European governments to 2007. Elderly people worry about their security in old age, access to decent health care, about their children getting […]

My Experience With The Troika In Ireland

Paul Sweeney 13th February 2015 8 Comments

The day the Troika came to town was a dark day for the Irish. Troika is a Russian word meaning a sled drawn by three horses or a dance. For the Irish people it was both a dance, but to a grating, dissonant tune, and like being pulled in three directions by the horses. The […]

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Living and working in Europe 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to be a defining force in 2021, and Eurofound continued its work of examining and recording the many and diverse impacts across the EU. Living and working in Europe 2021 provides a snapshot of the changes to employment, work and living conditions in Europe. It also summarises the agency’s findings on issues such as gender equality in employment, wealth inequality and labour shortages. These will have a significant bearing on recovery from the pandemic, resilience in the face of the war in Ukraine and a successful transition to a green and digital future.


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EU Care Atlas: a new interactive data map showing how care deficits affect the gender earnings gap in the EU

Browse through the EU Care Atlas, a new interactive data map to help uncover what the statistics are often hiding: how care deficits directly feed into the gender earnings gap.

While attention is often focused on the gender pay gap (13%), the EU Care Atlas brings to light the more worrisome and complex picture of women’s economic inequalities. The pay gap is just one of three main elements that explain the overall earnings gap, which is estimated at 36.7%. The EU Care Atlas illustrates the urgent need to look beyond the pay gap and understand the interplay between the overall earnings gap and care imbalances.


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Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.


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Bilan social / Social policy in the EU: state of play 2021 and perspectives

The new edition of the Bilan social 2021, co-produced by the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), reveals that while EU social policy-making took a blow in 2020, 2021 was guided by the re-emerging social aspirations of the European Commission and the launch of several important initiatives. Against the background of Covid-19, climate change and the debate on the future of Europe, the French presidency of the Council of the EU and the von der Leyen commission must now be closely scrutinised by EU citizens and social stakeholders.


AVAILABLE HERE

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