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About University of Galway
About University of Galway
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Community Engagement
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Accessibility & LanguagePeople
Mr. STEPHEN MCNENA
B.Comm. M.Econ.Sc. PG Cert in Teaching
Contact Details
UNIVERSITY TEACHER
Room 233
Cairnes Building
NUI Galway
T: Ext. 3053
E: stephen.mcnena@nuigalway.ie
Room 233
Cairnes Building
NUI Galway
T: Ext. 3053
E: stephen.mcnena@nuigalway.ie
Lecturer
Economics discipline
T: +353 91 493053
E: stephen.mcnena@universityofgalway.ie
www.localauthorityfinances.com
Economics discipline
T: +353 91 493053
E: stephen.mcnena@universityofgalway.ie
www.localauthorityfinances.com
Biography
Research Interests
Research Projects
| Project | Start Date | End Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEPHEN McNENA GENERAL RESEARCH ACCOUNT | 01-MAR-19 | 28-FEB-29 |
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2021) | 'Equalisation transfers and local fiscal capacity: A new methodology for Ireland'
Turley, G., McNena S. (2021) 'Equalisation transfers and local fiscal capacity: A new methodology for Ireland'. The Economic And Social Review, 52 (1):53-74 [Details] |
|
| (2020) | 'A reassessment of local government’s financial position and performance: The case of Ireland'
Gerard Turley, Rémi Di medio and Stephen McNena (2020) 'A reassessment of local government’s financial position and performance: The case of Ireland'. Administration, 68 (2):1-35 [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2019) | 'Local government funding in Ireland: Contemporary issues and future challenges'
Turley, G; McNena, S (2019) 'Local government funding in Ireland: Contemporary issues and future challenges'. Administration, 67 (4):1-26 [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Austerity and Irish local government expenditure since the Great Recession'
Turley, G., McNena, S., and Robbins, G. (2018) 'Austerity and Irish local government expenditure since the Great Recession'. Administration, 66 (4):1-24 [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Optimum Territorial Reforms in Local Government: An Empirical Analysis of Scale Economies in Ireland'
Gerard Turley, John McDonagh, Stephen McNena, Arkadiusz Grzedzinski (2018) 'Optimum Territorial Reforms in Local Government: An Empirical Analysis of Scale Economies in Ireland'. The Economic And Social Review, 49 (4):463-488 [Details] |
|
| (2016) | 'An Analysis of Local Public Finances and the 2014 Local Government Reforms'
Turley, G.and McNena, S. (2016) 'An Analysis of Local Public Finances and the 2014 Local Government Reforms'. The Economic And Social Review, 47 (2):299-326 [Details] |
|
| (2016) | 'Benchmarking the financial performance of local councils in Ireland'
Robbins G., Turley G., and McNena S. (2016) 'Benchmarking the financial performance of local councils in Ireland'. Administration, 64 (1):1-27 [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2015) | 'A Needs and Resources Assessment of Fiscal Equalisation in the Irish Local Government System'
Turley, G., Flannery, D. and McNena, S. (2015) 'A Needs and Resources Assessment of Fiscal Equalisation in the Irish Local Government System'. The Economic And Social Review, 46 (3):459-484 [Details] |
|
| (2015) | 'A Framework to Measure the Financial Performance of Local Governments'
Turley, G., Robbins, G., McNena, S. (2015) 'A Framework to Measure the Financial Performance of Local Governments'. Local Government Studies, 41 (3):401-420 [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2014) | 'From boom to bust? The financial performance of city and county councils'
Robbins, G., Turley, G. and McNena S. (2014) 'From boom to bust? The financial performance of city and county councils'. Administration, 62 (1):119-151 [Details] |
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2021) | 'Budget Institutions for Subnational Fiscal Discipline: Local Fiscal Rules in Post-Crisis EU Countries'
Gerard Turley, Christian Raffer and Stephen McNena (2021) 'Budget Institutions for Subnational Fiscal Discipline: Local Fiscal Rules in Post-Crisis EU Countries' In: Local Public Finance: An International Comparative Regulatory Perspective. Switzerland: Springer. [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Financing Local Government in the Twenty-First Century: Local Government Revenues in EU Member States, 2000-2014'
Turley, G., McNena, S. (2018) 'Financing Local Government in the Twenty-First Century: Local Government Revenues in EU Member States, 2000-2014' In: The Routledge Handbook on International Local Government. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis Ltd. [Details] |
Conference Contributions
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2014) | Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference,
McNena, S. (2014) From Boom to Bust? The Financial Performance of City and County Councils in Ireland. [Conference Paper], Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference, Belfast , 29-MAY-14 - 30-MAY-14. [Details] |
Conference Paper
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2005) | Welfare State in Ireland 1997-2002. Belgium: Presented at the Conference the State of the Welfare State Anno.
McNena, S (2005) Welfare State in Ireland 1997-2002. Belgium: Presented at the Conference the State of the Welfare State Anno. Conference Paper [Details] |
Educational Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2022) | Why Paschal Donohoe should introduce new income tax rates.
Stephen McNena (2022) Why Paschal Donohoe should introduce new income tax rates. Dublin: RTE Educational Article [Details] |
|
| (2022) | Why are prices in Ireland so high?.
Stephen McNena (2022) Why are prices in Ireland so high?. Dublin: RTE Educational Article [Details] |
|
| (2022) | Is Ireland too dependant on corporation tax?.
Stephen McNena (2022) Is Ireland too dependant on corporation tax?. Dublin: RTE Educational Article [Details] |
|
| (2022) | Is a wealth tax a good idea?.
Stephen McNena (2022) Is a wealth tax a good idea?. Dublin: RTE Educational Article [Details] |
Electronic Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2023) | Inflation: why prices look likely to stay high in the UK and Ireland, and what that means for mortgages.
Stephen McNena (2023) Inflation: why prices look likely to stay high in the UK and Ireland, and what that means for mortgages. The Conversation UK Electronic Article [Details] |
Magazine Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2022) | Taxing Empty Space.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2022) Taxing Empty Space. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration Magazine Article [Details] |
|
| (2021) | Municipal Finance and the Local Economy post COVID-19.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2021) Municipal Finance and the Local Economy post COVID-19. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration Magazine Article [Details] |
|
| (2021) | Getting the Right Balance - A redesigned revenue equalisation funding model for local government.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2021) Getting the Right Balance - A redesigned revenue equalisation funding model for local government. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration Magazine Article [Details] |
Policy Contribution
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2020) | Fiscal Equalisation in the Irish Local Government System.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2020) Fiscal Equalisation in the Irish Local Government System. Galway: Whitaker Research Institute - Policy Brief Series Policy Contribution [Details] |
|
| (2020) | Local Government Funding In Ireland.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2020) Local Government Funding In Ireland. Galway: Whitaker Research Institute - Policy Brief Series Policy Contribution [Details] |
|
| (2018) | Optimum Territorial Reforms and Local Authority Amalgamations. Does Size Matter?.
Gerard Turley, Stephen McNena, John McDonagh and Arkadiusz Grzedzinski (2018) Optimum Territorial Reforms and Local Authority Amalgamations. Does Size Matter?. Galway: Whitaker Research Institute - Policy Brief Series Policy Contribution [Details] |
|
| (2016) | The Financial Performance of Irish Local Government.
Robbins, G., Turley, G., and S. McNena (2016) The Financial Performance of Irish Local Government. Galway: Whitaker Research Institute - Policy Brief Series Policy Contribution [Details] |
Non Published Reports
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2013) | An evaluation of Ballinasloe marina.
McNena, S. (2013) An evaluation of Ballinasloe marina. Non Published Reports [Details] |
|
| (2002) | Sligo County - Economic, Social and Cultural Profile.
McNena, S. (2002) Sligo County - Economic, Social and Cultural Profile. Sligo: Non Published Reports [Details] |
Web Page
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2020) | www.localauthorityfinances.com.
Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena (2020) www.localauthorityfinances.com. Web Page [Details] |
Honours and Awards
| Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NUI Galway President's Award for Teaching Excellence - nomination | NUI Galway | |
| 2015 | NUI Galway President's Award for Teaching Excellence - nomination | NUI Galway |
Committees
| Committee | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBE Learning, Teaching and Assessment committee | Member | 23-JAN-23 / | |
| SBE Athena Swan self-assessment team | Member | 01-OCT-19 / 09-SEP-20 |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Galway | Economics lecturer | 01-JUL-98 / |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NUI Galway | Postgraduate Diploma | Stand-alone module on Learning Technologies | |
| 2009 | NUI Galway | Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning | Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning | |
| 1997 | UCG | M.Econ.Sc. | Economics | |
| 1995 | UCG | B.Commerce | Economics |
Consultancy
| Client | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Galway County Council |
Community Engagement
| Title | Type | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outreach | Uni4U programme | / |
Other Activities
| Description | |
|---|---|
Programme Director of the Higher Diploma in Economic Science between 2017 and 2022. https://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/economic-science.html |
|
Programme Director of the Higher Diploma in Financial Analysis https://www.universityofgalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/financial-analysis.html |
Teaching Interests
Current Postgraduate Students (Taught)
| Name | Degree | Primary Supervisor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervised 2x EC5138 minor dissertations | Y |
Recent Postgraduate Students
| Graduation | Name | Degree | Primary Supervisor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Supervised 4x EC505 minor dissertations | Y | ||
| 2021 | Supervised 3x EC505 minor dissertations | |||
| 2020 | Supervised 4x EC505 minor dissertations | |||
| 2019 | Supervised 5x EC505 minor dissertations | |||
| 2018 | Alex Gardiner, M.Econ.Sc. - Cryptocurrencies | Y | ||
| 2018 | Mathews Joseph, M.Ecoc.Sc. - Indian demonetisation | Y | ||
| 2018 | Weichen Li, M.Econ.Sc - Is GDP growth translating into real-wage growth? | Y | ||
| 2016 | Niall Pender, M.Econ.Sc. - Terrorism and tourism | Y | ||
| 2016 | Alasdair Walsh, M.Econ.Sc. - Brexit and five possible trade relationships between the UK and EU | Y | ||
| 2015 | Carol McLoughlin, MSc Health economics 2014/15 | Y |
Modules Taught
| Term/Year | Module Title | Module Code | Subject / Desc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Introduction to Economic Policy | EC1110 | 1st year BA (Child, Youth, Family) and BSc. Applied Social Science | |
| 2023/24 | Introductory Macroeconomics | EC136 | ||
| 2023/24 | Economics of Public and Social Policy | EC267 | 2nd year BA (Child, Youth, Family) and 3rd year BSc. (Applied Social Science) | |
| 2023/24 | Macroeconomics | EC268 | ||
| 2023/24 | Economics of Family Policy | EC272 | ||
| 2023/24 | Introduction to Youth and Family studies | SP1103 | Team teaching, I teach one-third of module | |
| 2022/23 | Research Project | EC5139 | ||
| 2022/23 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | EC7102 | Part-time online B.Comm. | |
| 2021/22 | Ireland in the Global Economy | EC426.3 | Part-time online B.Comm. | |
| 2019/20 | Research Methods in Public and Social Policy | SP1117 | Team teaching - I teach 1/6 | |
| 2016/17 | Microeconomics | EC 2.1 | B.Ed. programme at St. Angela's College, Sligo | |
| 2014/15 | Access programme - Economics and maths modules | xx | Access programme at St. Angela's College, Sligo |
Internal Collaborators
| Name | Description of Collaboration | |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Gerard Turley | ||
| Dr. Geraldine Robbins | ||
| Dr. John McDonagh |
External Collaborators
| Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | Description of Collaboration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Raffer | Hertie School of Governance | GERMANY |
Downloads
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Business Postgraduate Programmes 2024 PDF (4.7 MB)
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Postgraduate Prospectus 2025 PDF (3.3MB)
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Business Undergraduate Prospectus 2024 PDF (1.57MB)
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Undergraduate Prospectus 2025 PDF (12.4MB)
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A Level Quick Guide 2025 PDF (337 KB)
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Leading Business Alumni Book PDF (1.57)
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Quick Guide to Courses 2025 PDF (362 KB)
