City-REDI Seminar Series: The Potential Regional Impact of Brexit in Ireland - Professor Edgar Morgenroth, Dublin City University

City-REDI is delighted to invite you to our seminar series covering economics, economic geography, regional science, economic development, critical urbanism and urban policymaking. 

On the 26 February, Professor Edgar Morgenroth from Dublin City University will deliver a seminar titled "The Potential Regional Impact of Brexit in Ireland". 

Given the significant spatial heterogeneity within countries it is likely that the impact of Brexit to differs across regions within countries. Outside the UK the most significant impact is likely to be on Ireland given that it is the only country with a land border with the UK and given the historical relationships between the UK and Ireland. This suggests that the regional dimension of Brexit impacts is likely to be more pronounced in Ireland. This paper builds on the analysis of Lawless and Morgenroth (2019) to the county level in Ireland. This paper maps national trade impacts to employment by sector and county in Ireland. Likewise, it extends the analysis of Lawless and Morgenroth (2016), which considered the possible relocation of FDI from the UK to Ireland, to the county level. The paper shows that the differences in sectoral specialisation across Irish counties imply very different exposures to a hard Brexit. The sectors that are more susceptible to a hard Brexit (e.g. agri-food) are most heavily concentrated in the more remote rural areas and particularly in the Border region of Ireland. Those areas are therefore likely to be most affected by a hard Brexit. Over the recent past foreign investment into Ireland has concentrated in specific sectors, and particularly services including financial services. Spatially this is increasingly concentrated in and around the larger urban centres. Thus, it is likely that any gain of FDI due to Brexit will be concentrated in the urban areas. With rural and more remote areas likely to suffer more from Brexit and while the impact on the larger urban centres might be ameliorated by some FDI inflows, Brexit is likely to increase regional disparities in Ireland.

This seminar will take place in Room G13, Nuffield Building, University of Birmingham, 26 February 2019, 2 - 3pm.

You can find directions to the venue here.