UCD School of Economics

22/06/2026

🌱 Can agricultural innovation come at a hidden cost?

New research by Dimitrios Argyros explores the unintended consequences of Bt cotton adoption in North India, finding evidence that gains in agricultural productivity may have come with significant costs for child health.

The study highlights the importance of evaluating innovation not only by what it produces, but also by its impact on people.

📄 Cotton Boom, Childhood Burden is now available as a UCD School of Economics Working Paper.
University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law
https://www.ucd.ie/economics/t4media/WP2026_13.pdf

16/06/2026

Shaping the conversations that will shape Ireland 🇮🇪✨

We were delighted to see our own Professor Orla Doyle chair this year’s National Economic Dialogue, bringing together leaders from government, academia, industry and civil society to discuss the economic and social priorities that will define Ireland’s future.
UCD College of Social Sciences and Law University College Dublin

11/06/2026

On June 8th, the Behavioural Science & Policy Group hosted the 3rd ReCLAIM workshop funded by UCD Research Culture ReCLAIM award.📘
International experts discussed everything from LLM pollution in online experiments to open research, RCT data measurement, and replications.
More details: https://bsp.ucd.ie/2nd-reclaim-workshop-on-research-culture/ University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

28/05/2026

Better data = better answers. 📉💡
We were delighted to co-host a specialised workshop for researchers leveraging South African administrative data.
This session dug deep into the data driving critical insights across:
💼 Labour market trends
🌍 Environmental policy
📈 Trade dynamics
🏦 Taxation
This workshop is a fantastic collaborative effort, jointly organized with and TCD Department of Economics and UCD School of Economics Nora Strecker and Ronald Davies.
University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

27/05/2026

Congratulations to our colleague Marta Talevi, recipient of a 2026 UCD Global Engagement Regional Seed Fund award for the project “GreenMove – Catalysing UCD–South Asia collaborations on sustainable mobility, energy transition, and climate policies.” 🌍

The initiative will support workshops and virtual seminars fostering international collaboration on climate policy, sustainable mobility and energy transition across South Asia and UCD.

A fantastic achievement and an exciting new collaboration initiative. Congratulations Marta! 👏

Read more:
https://www.ucd.ie/globalengagement/newsandevents/ucdofficeofglobalengagementannounces2026regionalseedfundawardees/

26/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome two fantastic new faculty members to our department this fall! 🎉
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to:
👋 Bo-Yeon Jang – Learn more about their research and background here: https://boyeon-jang.com/
👋 Christina Sarah Hauser – Check out their work and upcoming projects here: https://sites.google.com/view/christinasarahhauser/home
We are incredibly excited for the fresh perspectives, expertise, and energy they will bring to our campus and community. Welcome to the team! 📚✨
University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

19/05/2026

Why are bettors so obsessed with parlays when the odds are stacked against them?

A new UCD Economics working paper by Karl Whelan shows that the popularity of multi-leg betting presents a genuine puzzle for expected utility theory, with most popular parlays making little sense even for rational bettors who believe they have an edge.

📄 Read the paper:
https://www.ucd.ie/economics/t4media/WP2026_10.pdf
UCD College of Social Sciences and Law University College Dublin

14/05/2026

A fantastic achievement for the UCD School of Economics to see our own Enda Hargaden, Nora Strecker and Lisa Ryan contributing evidence to Oireachtas committees on major issues facing Ireland today.

From the cost of living and energy price pressures to investment taxation and energy security, their contributions highlighted how economic research can help shape better public policy and long-term solutions.

Enda discussed the proposed Irish ISA-style investment scheme and the challenges around broad participation and inequality, while Nora and Lisa highlighted Ireland’s vulnerability to global energy shocks and the need for long-term structural responses focused on insulation, renewables and reducing fossil fuel dependence.

A great reflection of the policy impact of our School. O

Read more:
https://www.ucd.ie/socscilaw/newsandevents/ucdeconomistscontributeevidencetooireachtascommittees/

Choral Scholars of University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

Online on-demand archive of videos of Dáil, Seanad and committee debates.

13/05/2026

New paper. Most people in Europe think there are far more immigrants in their country than there actually are. That belief, accurate or not, shapes how people vote and what policies they support — so it matters who tends to get it wrong, and why.

Researchers have been studying this for twenty years and have converged on a familiar list of suspects: education, political views, personal contact with immigrants, what people watch and read. Almost all of these studies pick the variables to look at in advance.

In this paper I do something different: I let a machine-learning method (Lasso) pick from 35 candidates, and see which ones survive.

Most of them do — misperception isn't reducible to one cause. But three less-discussed factors stand out: depressive symptoms, low social trust, and how much television people watch (specifically TV in general, not political news). Each predicts believing the immigrant share is larger than it is.

Working paper:https://www.ucd.ie/economics/t4media/WP2026_09.pdf
University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law Kevin Denny

12/05/2026

Lisa Ryan, Professor of Energy Economics at the UCD School of Economics and the UCD Energy Institute, discusses Europe’s continued reliance on fossil fuels — an issue recently highlighted by European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.
An important contribution to the conversation on energy security, sustainability, and Europe’s transition to a low-carbon future.
University College Dublin UCD College of Social Sciences and Law

Lisa Ryan, Professor of Energy Economics at the UCD School of Economics and Energy Institute, discusses Europe's reliance on fossil fuels, a subject which has been highlighted by European Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen.