Institutions, Markets and Societies (IMS) is an interdisciplina​ry research group that seeks to promote empirical research on the economic, political, social, and legal environments in which markets operate. It seeks to build a bridge between different disciplinary perspectives on questions of where markets come from, how they work, why they fail, the kinds of political, social, and corporate structures on which they depend, and the manner in which they impact impact on social, economic, and political processes. IMS sponsors a variety of events and research activities jointly with individual staff members and Schools (School of Politics, Smurfit School of Business, and School of Sociology).

The Dynamics Lab at the Geary Institute focuses on dynamic and complex behaviour in social networks and group processes. It fosters an interdisciplinary approach and brings together researchers from across the university interested in computational social science, including dynamic social network analysis, agent based social simulation, group social processes, group decision modeling and dynamic game approaches.

Empirical research and policy applications in this area have proved extensive and very successful. They include the study of organizational behaviour, formation of strategic alliances between firms, diffusion of information and innovation, personal friendship formation, use of political influence and predicting group decision outcomes, patterns of migration and job search, as well as various areas of interest in the health sciences such as the study of mental health, suicide, drug abuse, spread of contagious diseases, obesity and so on.

Under the coordination of the Centre of International Development Studies (CIDS) we are part of a multi-disciplinary team of researchers working on poverty reduction in the Conway Institute (Medical Science), Geary Institute (Social Science) and Urban Institute (Environmental and Agricultural Science). Our research in the Geary Institute focuses on important thematic priorities of Irish Aid.

This project aims to develop a data set on the establishment, growth and evolution of Ireland’s state administration from the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. The dataset will constitute a major research infrastructure for the humanities and social sciences in Ireland and will be of benefit to political scientists, historians, lawyers, sociologists and specialists in public policy. It could well act as a model for the development of similar infrastructures in other European states.

POPB is a Geary Institute research programme in comparative Public Opinion and Political Behaviour. Current projects include voter turnout and other forms of political participation in systems of multi-level governance; attitudes to globalization and European integration; referendum voting behaviour; Irish public opinion and voting behaviour in comparative perspective; and multi-level analysis of human values, institutions and behaviour.