Posts by Robert Sweeney

Robert Sweeney @sweeneyr82

Robert Sweeney is a policy analyst at TASC and focuses on issues surrounding Irish political economy and distribution. He has a PhD in economics from University of Leeds, which concentrated on financial markets and investors, banking, international macroeconomics, and housing. He is also interested in debates on alternative schools and methodology in economics, and ownership.

Inequality, equal pay and the care economy

Robert Sweeney 10/11/2020

The distribution of both paid and unpaid care work in society is probably the single, largest factor affecting economic inequalities between men and women. Because they provide the overwhelming amount of unpaid care, women have often been excluded from the economic, political and cultural life. And, while the professionalisation of the traditional …

Kickstarting the Economy

Robert Sweeney 01/07/2020

It is no exaggeration to say that the challenges facing the new government are both unprecedented and among the largest in the history of state. As …

Are we all MMTers now?

Robert Sweeney 01/06/2020

The onset of Co-vid 19 has been met with massive intervention by public authorities around the world. Central banks in particular have …

Low Pay in the Time of Covid-19

Robert Sweeney 06/04/2020

If there are any silver linings to the Corona Virus, one of them is that it has brought into focus how reliant we are on low-paid workers. As 23% of …

The Anatomy of a Crisis

Robert Sweeney 30/03/2020

A Look Back at the 2008 Crisis These are unchartered waters. Ireland is now in effective lockdown. As the dust settles on the enormity of the health …

Ireland, low pay, and the Living Wage

Robert Sweeney 18/12/2019

The idea that work should pay is a key component of our social contract. Without adequate pay, the ability to live a life that is independent and …

The Irish fiscal straitjacket

Robert Sweeney 30/10/2019

These are eventful times for the Irish economy. We are told a variety of ‘storm clouds’ have been forming internationally which, it is claimed, …

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