DIT PhD/Doctoral Project

Supervisor name & contact details: / Dr Bill Dwan
Research Centre Name and Website (if applicable) / School of Retail and Services Management
Funding Agency
Scholarship Details
Subject Area / Retail Planning
Title of the Project / The transforming retail structure of the Republic of Ireland 1933 to Present.
Project Description
Censuses of services have been published by the CSO in 1933, 1951, 1956, 1966, 1977 and 1988. A census of services records details relating to all permanent business premises operating exclusively or principally engaged in retail or wholesale trades in the Republic of Ireland. The information is recorded according to category (pub, grocer, pharmacy) located in a settlement (village, town or city). The details recorded include, number of outlets in each settlement, aggregate turnover, aggregate purchases, value added tax (VAT) on turnover and purchases, closing stock, gross margins, wages and salaries, number of persons employed, and most importantly floor space according to category. This valuable data remains available at the CSO offices in Rathmines, Dublin. It is understood that only a single copy of the 1933 and 1951 census are known to remain. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is the official statistics agency of the Republic of Ireland. This project proposes to digitalise this valuable data to present a longitudinal dataset of immense value. Furthermore it is proposed to analyse the data in order to determine the manner in which the retail structure of Ireland transformed from 1933 to the present. While definitions of retail structure vary the term generally refers to the numbers, sizes and mix of retail stores in a centre. Furthermore it is proposed to measure the relationship between retail structure transformation and economic data such as, gross domestic product (GDP) unemployment, emigration, population numbers and population characteristics employing a statistical methodology such as ordinary least squares (OLS)regression. While the last census of services was undertaken in 1988, retail structure data relating to the years 2004 – 2008 has been acquired by the project proposer Dr. Bill Dwan and will be made available to the study.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Minimum 2.1 (any discipline considered)
Deadline to submit applications (only for funded projects)
Please choose College as appropriate
Arts & Tourism
Business / X
Engineering and Built Environment
Sciences & Health