QUCEH Working Paper Series
Working papers by QUCEH Research Associates, Research Affiliates and Research Students are distributed from this page. They are also available through Econstor, a RePEc-compatible Open Access server which provides a platform for the free distribution of academic literature in economics. Please contact Chris Colvin (chris.colvin@qub.ac.uk) for more information about the series.
Full Archive of the QUCEH Working Paper Series:
Abstracts of Recent QUCEH Working Papers:
No. 18-10:
Stephen D. Billington
'Patent Costs and the Value of Inventions: Explaining Patenting Behaviour between England, Ireland and Scotland, 1617-1852'
October 2018
Ascertaining whether patents encourage invention necessitates understanding the incentives inventors respond to. The British patent system prior to its reform in 1852 was cumbersome and expensive. Whether it facilitated or delayed the Industrial Revolution is hotly debated. This paper’s contribution is to examine the incentives to patent, and the characteristics of patentees, by observing the entire population of British patents granted up to the patent reforms of 1852. I find inventors patented widely because they had valuable inventions. Their value was positively associated with the skills and wealth of patentees. Inventors responded to demand-side conditions, and the system’s expense did not hinder invention.
Stephen D. Billington
'Patent Costs and the Value of Inventions: Explaining Patenting Behaviour between England, Ireland and Scotland, 1617-1852'
October 2018
Ascertaining whether patents encourage invention necessitates understanding the incentives inventors respond to. The British patent system prior to its reform in 1852 was cumbersome and expensive. Whether it facilitated or delayed the Industrial Revolution is hotly debated. This paper’s contribution is to examine the incentives to patent, and the characteristics of patentees, by observing the entire population of British patents granted up to the patent reforms of 1852. I find inventors patented widely because they had valuable inventions. Their value was positively associated with the skills and wealth of patentees. Inventors responded to demand-side conditions, and the system’s expense did not hinder invention.
No. 18-09:
Graeme G. Acheson,Gareth Campbell, Áine Gallagher and John D. Turner
'Independent Women: Shareholders in the Age of the Suffragettes'
September 2018
The early twentieth century saw an increasingly vocal movement which campaigned for women to be able to exercise their political voices independently of men. This coincided with more women participating directly in the stock market. In this paper we analyse whether these female shareholders acted independently of men. We reject the hypothesis that they were heavily influenced by male associates. Using a novel dataset of 500,000 shareholders in some of the largest British railways, we find that women were much more likely to be solo shareholders than men. There is also evidence that they prioritised their independence above other considerations such as where they invested or how diversified they could be. However, we find that they were deliberately excluded from being eligible for election to boards of directors.
Graeme G. Acheson,Gareth Campbell, Áine Gallagher and John D. Turner
'Independent Women: Shareholders in the Age of the Suffragettes'
September 2018
The early twentieth century saw an increasingly vocal movement which campaigned for women to be able to exercise their political voices independently of men. This coincided with more women participating directly in the stock market. In this paper we analyse whether these female shareholders acted independently of men. We reject the hypothesis that they were heavily influenced by male associates. Using a novel dataset of 500,000 shareholders in some of the largest British railways, we find that women were much more likely to be solo shareholders than men. There is also evidence that they prioritised their independence above other considerations such as where they invested or how diversified they could be. However, we find that they were deliberately excluded from being eligible for election to boards of directors.
No. 18-08:
Alan de Bromhead, Alan Fernihough and Enda Hargaden
'Representation of the People: Franchise Extension and the 'Sinn Féin Election' in Ireland, 1918'
June 2018
Electoral reforms in 1918 nearly tripled the number of people eligible to vote in Ireland. Following the reforms – the largest franchise extensions in UK history – the previously obscure Sinn Féin party secured 73 of Ireland’s 105 seats, an outcome that presaged a guerrilla war and ultimately independence from the United Kingdom. This paper examines the relationship between the franchise extension and the election results. We find little evidence of a connection between the two. New female voters appear less likely to have supported Sinn Féin. New male voters were slightly more likely to vote for Sinn Féin, but the magnitude of this effect was small and statistically insignificant. In fact, non-voting appears particularly high for both groups of new voters. Our results suggest that the extension of the franchise cannot explain Sinn Féin's victory. We conclude their electoral success was more likely driven by a change of heart on behalf of the Irish electorate, rather than a change in its composition.
Alan de Bromhead, Alan Fernihough and Enda Hargaden
'Representation of the People: Franchise Extension and the 'Sinn Féin Election' in Ireland, 1918'
June 2018
Electoral reforms in 1918 nearly tripled the number of people eligible to vote in Ireland. Following the reforms – the largest franchise extensions in UK history – the previously obscure Sinn Féin party secured 73 of Ireland’s 105 seats, an outcome that presaged a guerrilla war and ultimately independence from the United Kingdom. This paper examines the relationship between the franchise extension and the election results. We find little evidence of a connection between the two. New female voters appear less likely to have supported Sinn Féin. New male voters were slightly more likely to vote for Sinn Féin, but the magnitude of this effect was small and statistically insignificant. In fact, non-voting appears particularly high for both groups of new voters. Our results suggest that the extension of the franchise cannot explain Sinn Féin's victory. We conclude their electoral success was more likely driven by a change of heart on behalf of the Irish electorate, rather than a change in its composition.
No. 18-07:
Seán Kenny and John D. Turner
'Wildcat Bankers or Political Failure? The Irish Financial Pantomime, 1797-1826'
June 2018
Using a new biography of banks, we examine the stability of Irish banking from 1797 to 1826 by constructing a failure rate series. We find that the ultimate cause of the frequent and severe banking crises was the crisis-prone structure of the banking system, which was designed to benefit the political elite. There is little evidence to suggest that wildcat banking or the failure of the Bank of Ireland to act as a lender of last resort were to blame. We also find that the main economic effect of the episodic crises was major diminutions in the money supply.
Seán Kenny and John D. Turner
'Wildcat Bankers or Political Failure? The Irish Financial Pantomime, 1797-1826'
June 2018
Using a new biography of banks, we examine the stability of Irish banking from 1797 to 1826 by constructing a failure rate series. We find that the ultimate cause of the frequent and severe banking crises was the crisis-prone structure of the banking system, which was designed to benefit the political elite. There is little evidence to suggest that wildcat banking or the failure of the Bank of Ireland to act as a lender of last resort were to blame. We also find that the main economic effect of the episodic crises was major diminutions in the money supply.