Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Kristinn  Hermannsson
Author-Name-First: Kristinn 
Author-Name-Last: Hermannsson
Author-Email: kristinn.hermannsson@strath.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Fraser of Allander Institute, Strathclyde University
Author-Name: Katerina Lisenkova
Author-Name-First: Katerina
Author-Name-Last: Lisenkova
Author-Email: katerina.lisenkova@strath.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Fraser of Allander Institute, Strathclyde University
Author-Name: Peter  McGregor
Author-Name-First: Peter 
Author-Name-Last: McGregor
Author-Email: p.mcgregor@strath.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Fraser of Allander Institute, Strathclyde University
Author-Name: Kim  Swales
Author-Name-First: Kim 
Author-Name-Last: Swales
Author-Email: j.k.swales@strath.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde
Title: “Policy Scepticism” and the Impact of Northern Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on their Host Region: Accounting for Regional Budget Constraints
Abstract: This paper replicates the analysis of Scottish HEIs in Hermannsson et al (2010b) for the case of Northern Ireland. The motivation is to provide a self-contained analysis that is readily accessible by those whose primary concern is with the regional impacts of Northern Irish HEIs. A comparative analysis will follow in due course. A “policy scepticism” has emerged that challenges the results of conventional regional HEI impact analyses. This denial of the importance of the expenditure impacts of HEIs appears to be based on a belief in either a binding regional resource constraint or a regional public sector budget constraint. In this paper we provide a systematic critique of this policy scepticism. However, while rejecting the extreme form of policy scepticism, we argue that it is crucial to recognise the importance of the publicsector expenditure constraints that are binding under devolution. We show how conventional impact analyses can be augmented to accommodate regional public sector budget 
constaints. While our results suggest that conventional impact studies overestimate the expenditure impacts of HEIs, they also demonstrate that the policy scepticism that treats these expenditure effects as irrelevant neglects some key aspects of HEIs, in particular their export intensity.  
Length: 50 pages
Creation-Date: 2010-10
Revision-Date: 
Publication-Status: 
File-URL: http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/departments/economics/10-25_UPDATE.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
Number: 1025
Classification-JEL: R51, R15, H75, I23 .
Keywords: Higher Education Institutions, Input-Output, Northern-Ireland, Impact study, Multipliers, Devolution, public budget constraint.
Handle: RePEc:str:wpaper:1025