Regional income and wave energy deployment in Ireland

N. Farrell*, C. O'Donoghue, K. Morrissey

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Alongside environmental benefits, renewable energy deployment is often evaluated on grounds of regional development. Focusing on wave energy deployment in Ireland, this paper quantifies employment-related welfare change net of associated subsidy costs. Although the added employment reduces inter-regional inequality, certain subsidies increase total income inequality by a greater extent. Total inequality increases by 0.25% in the preferred scenario. This pattern of incidence persists under an optimistic scenario where all manufacturing activity is carried out locally. This finding highlights that policies of regional development should consider the spatial distribution of associated subsidy costs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)509-531
Number of pages23
JournalPapers in Regional Science
Volume99
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2020

JEL classifications

  • r58 - Regional Development Planning and Policy

Keywords

  • inequality
  • regional development
  • renewable energy
  • spatial microsimulation
  • SCOTTISH ECONOMY
  • DEVELOPMENT POLICY
  • LOCAL-IMPACT
  • MICROSIMULATION
  • SECTOR
  • SUPPORT
  • MARINE ENERGY
  • RENEWABLE ENERGY
  • GROWTH
  • GREEN JOBS

Cite this