Alan Barrett

• Ph.D.
• Managing Director at Economic and Social Research Institute

This book by the ESRI team in 1997 gives a broad overview of Ireland’s tax system and asks “is the system correctly targeted so that the polluter pays?” The answer is frequently “no”. The authors describe how charges and taxes should be better targeted at polluting activity so that it is not the general taxpayer or ordinary citizen who pays regardl...

We explore whether older parents of adult children who emigrate experience, in the short term, increases in depressive symptoms and loneliness feelings compared to parents whose children do not migrate. We use data from the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, which is a nationally representative sample of 8500 people aged 50...

Since the mid-1990s, the Irish economy has experienced large periods of growth and contraction by international and historic standards. In Fig. 1, we show rates of growth in real GDP and real GNP for the period 1996–2011, clearly highlighting the contrasting performance of the Irish economy over the period. In the mid- to late-1990s, the Irish econ...

Background: The few studies that have attempted to identify the causal effects of retirement on mental health and well-being have provided conflicting evidence. Hence, whether retirement affects mental health positively or negatively is still unclear. Aims of the study: Our primary objective is to investigate the impact of retirement on mental h...

Population aging will impact on the labor market in at least two ways. First, the number of people in the standard working ages (20–64) will fall. This is generally accepted as being a cause for concern because, all else equal, a smaller pool of workers will have to support a larger number of dependents. Second, the proportion of older workers will...

This study explores the extent to which research on the Irish labour market guides economic migration policy-making. An overview is provided of the process in place for identifying labour and skills shortages, and the mechanisms and tools used for that purpose. The study shows that direct information linkages exist between the responsible bodies:...

With the UK government committed to holding a referendum on membership of the EU, it is important that we understand the possible implications for Ireland. In this study, ESRI researchers explore the economic links between Ireland and the UK and scope out the possible economic consequences of Brexit for Ireland.

This study aims to map the measures and policies that are in place to facilitate and encourage business migration from non-EEA countries to Ireland, and to examine to what extent the immigration system is ‘business friendly’. Both short-term business travel and longer-term business-related immigration are examined. The report focuses on: immigrant...

One part of the policy response in many countries to increasing pension coverage will be greater private provision on the part of individuals. This requires that individuals are well-informed about pensions. In this paper, we assess levels of knowledge of pensions using a representative sample of older Irish adults. We find that two thirds of indiv...

The impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on later-life health outcomes has been studied extensively and links with depression, anxiety and self-harm have been established. However, there has been relatively little research undertaken on the possible impact of CSA on later-life economic outcomes. Here, we explore whether older people who report ha...

This study on Migrant Access to Social Security and Healthcare: Policies and Practice in Ireland aims to increase understanding of how the Irish social security system, including healthcare, operates in respect of non-Irish workers and their families. It provides an overview of the welfare system in Ireland, outlining policies and administrative p...

The economic crisis of 2008/9 was felt more acutely in Ireland relative to most other countries and culminated in the international bailout in 2010. Given the economic collapse, Ireland provides an ideal case study of the link between wealth collapses and movements in variables such as health and well-being. Using nationally representative samples...

Research has shown that employment status, such as being unemployed or retired, can be related to well-being. In addition, the direction and size of these relationships can be influenced by the employment status of one’s peer group. For example, it has been shown that the well-being of the unemployed tends to be higher for those living in high-unem...

Between 2009 and 2011, data were collected under the first wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Over 8,500 people aged 50 and over and living in Ireland were interviewed on a wide range of topics covering socioeconomic and health issues. Our primary goals in this paper are (a) to present details on two of the variables which will...

In March 2010, the Irish government announced that the age at which the state pension is paid would be raised to 66 in 2014, 67 in 2021 and 68 in 2028. One typical objective of such policy reforms is to provide an incentive for later retirement. The question we address in this paper is whether the expected retirement ages of Irish individuals aged...

Between 2009 and 2011, fieldwork was undertaken for the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Extensive information was collected on about 8,500 individuals aged 50 and over and living in Ireland, covering topics such as economic circumstances and health. One of the features of Ireland’s older population is the remarkably hi...

We are delighted to become the founding Editors of the IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, and to have the privilege to do so with a group of exceptional Associate Editors including Werner Eichhorst, Pawel Kaczmarczyk, Francis Kramarz, Jonathan Portes, Jo Ritzen, Nina Smith, Coen Teulings, Mirjam van Praag, Arthur van Soest, and Etienne Wasmer....

Within the economics literature, the "psychic costs" of migration have been incorporated into theoretical models since Sjaastad (1962). However, the existence of such costs has rarely been investigated in empirical papers. In this paper, we look at the psychic costs of migration using alcohol problems as an indicator. Rather than comparing immigran...

Across the subjects of economics, sociology and demography, much has been written about the difficulties faced by immigrants. However, much less attention has been paid to the re-adjustment challenges migrants face on their return. In this paper, we examine whether and the extent to which a group of returned migrants experience higher degrees of so...

In March of 2010, the Irish government announced that the age at which the state pension is paid would be raised to 66 in 2014, 67 in 2021 and 68 in 2028. Also during 2010, the economic news became increasingly bad as the full scale of the fiscal and banking crises in Ireland emerged. The question we address in this paper is whether expected retire...

Between 2009 and 2011, fieldwork was undertaken for the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Extension information was collected on about 8,500 people aged 50 and over and living in Ireland, covering topics such as economic circumstances and health. One of the features of Ireland's older population is the remarkably high pr...

In the mid-2000s, Ireland experienced a large inflow of immigrants, partly in response to strong economic growth but also in response to its decision to allow full access to its labour market when EU expansion occurred in May 2004. Between 2004 and 2007, the proportion of non-nationals living in Ireland almost doubled, increasing from 7.7 to 13.1%....

CONTENTS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND 2 A THEORY OF LAND PRICES, LAND USAGE AND SUBSIDIES 3 AGRICULTURAL LAND PRICE SERIES 4 FORESTRY LAND PRICES 5 ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF FORESTRY AND AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES ON LAND PRICES AND AFFORESTATION 6 CONCLUSION APPENDICES REFERENCES

Purpose In this paper, the authors aim to assess whether immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments relative to natives across a range of European countries. They also seek to examine relative rates of poverty across immigrants and natives. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data from the European Union Statistics on Income an...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the rates of receipt of welfare for immigrants and natives in Ireland, to see if the outcome is consistent with the operation of a policy which was designed to limit immigrant access to welfare. Design/methodology/approach The authors use micro‐data from the Irish component European Union Survey on I...

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a large-scale, nationally representative study of people aged 50 and over in Ireland. It is the most ambitious study of ageing ever carried out in Ireland and represents a step-change in terms of data, knowledge and understanding of ageing with which to inform policy and novel research. TILDA is des...

In the mid 2000s Ireland experienced a large inflow of immigrants, partly in response to strong economic growth but also in response to its decision to allow full access to its labour market when EU expansion occurred in May 2004. Between 2004 and 2007, the proportion of non-nationals living in Ireland almost doubled, increasing from 7.7 to 13.1 pe...

Using data from a large-scale survey of employees in Ireland, we estimate the extent to which people who have emigrated from Ireland and returned earn more relative to comparable people who have never lived abroad. In so doing, we are testing the hypothesis that migration can be part of a process of human capital formation. We find through OLS esti...

Research Bulletin 2011/2/1: The Macro-economic Impact of Changing the Rate of Corporation Tax, by Thomas Conefrey and John Fitz Gerald Research Bulletin 2011/2/2: The Banking Sector and Recovery in the EU Economy, by Ray Barrell, Tatiana Fic, John FitzGerald, Ali Orazgani and Rachel Whitworth Research Bulletin 2011/2/3: Should We Be Worried About I...

Much has been written about the labour market outcomes for immigrants in their host countries, particularly with regard to earnings, employment and occupational attainment. However, much less attention has been paid to the question of whether immigrants are as likely to receive employer-provided training relative to comparable natives. As such trai...

Ireland, along with Sweden and the UK, allowed full access to its labour market to the citizens of the accession countries when the EU enlarged in May 2004. Given the limited number of countries that opened up and the rapid pace of economic growth in Ireland around 2004, a significant inflow was expected. However, the rate of inflow exceeded all ex...

Ireland will experience population ageing in the coming years, whereby the percentage of the population aged 65 and over will rise from its current level of 11 percent to over 20 percent in 2035. A number of papers have looked at the implications of this process for the public finances. However, less attention has been paid to the human resource ne...

Contents Introduction Frances Ruane Chapter 1. Tax Reform: Selected Issues Tim Callan, Claire Keane, John R. Walsh 2. The Recession, Budgets, Competition, and Regulation: Should the State Supply Bespoke Protection? Paul K. Gorecki 3. The Future of the EU Budget: Irish Perspectives Alan Matthews

Special Policy Issue: European Social Model(s) and Social Europe

The core objective of this paper is to review the research which has been undertaken on estimating the economic impacts of immigration in Ireland. By way of providing context, the paper begins with an overview of Ireland’s recent experience of immigration and of the research which has been conducted on the associated issues such as the characterist...

None

We estimate the impact of immigration on the wages of natives in Ireland applying the technique proposed by Borjas (2003). Under this method, the labour market is divided into a number of skill cells, where the cells are defined by groups with similar levels of experience and education (or experience and occupation). Regression analysis is then emp...

Ireland has experienced a remarkable change in its migratory patterns in recent years and has moved from experiencing large-scale emigration to receiving significant inflows. In this paper, we use data from a nationally representative sample of immigrants and natives drawn in 2005 to assess the occupational attainment of immigrants in Ireland relat...

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the papers within the economics literature that have examined the questions of immigrant welfare use and the responsiveness of immigrants to the incentives created by welfare systems. While our focus is largely on papers looking at the European case, we also draw on studies from the United...

As the movement of population from the New Member States (NMS) of the EU to the older members is a relatively new flow, it is important to build up our knowledge of who is moving within Europe and how they are performing in their destinations. In this paper, we analyse the earnings of immigrants in Ireland from the NMS using a new large-scale datas...

As the movement of population from the New Member States (NMS) of the EU to the older members is a relatively new flow, it is important to build up our knowledge of who is moving within Europe and how they are performing in their destinations. In this paper, we analyse the earnings of immigrants in Ireland from the NMS using a new large-scale datas...

Much research has been conducted on immigration into Ireland in recent years using data from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), the official source for labour market data in Ireland. As it is known that the QNHS undercounts immigrants, a concern exists over whether the profile of immigrants being provided is accurate. For example, QNHS...

During the nineties, Europe became a major recipient of FDIs but Italian regions have been largely excluded from this process. Was it due to their characteristics, or were Italian regions “doomed” by a negative country effect? In this paper we address this issue by estimating the determinants of multinational firms’ location choices in 52 EU region...

Ireland's exceptional economic growth in recent years has led to an influx of immigrants. Given the favourable economic climate into which these immigrants are arriving, it is interesting to ask how their earnings and welfare dependence compare with the native population. Using data from a nationally representative sample drawn in 2004 immigrants a...

This paper has three objectives. First, a review of the developing body of work on the economics of immigration in Ireland is provided. Second, the analysis undertaken by Barrett and McCarthy (forthcoming) of earnings of immigrants in Ireland is updated. Third, the earnings of immigrant women are assessed to see if they experience a "double disadva...

The purpose of this paper is twofold. We first produce a labour market profile of non- Irish immigrants who arrived in Ireland in the ten years to 2003. We then go on to use the labour market profile in estimating the impact of immigration (non-Irish) on the Irish labour market. Immigrants are shown to be a highly educated group. However, they are...

Developed countries, especially in Europe, face a number of issue related to migration: social and economic disruptions caused by the declining demand for unskilled labour and resulting unemployment, a shortage of skilled labour in many professions, increasing international competition for highly qualified human capital, radical demographic changes...

Using data from surveys of enterprises in Ireland in 1993 and 1996-97, the authors estimate the productivity effects of general training, specific training, and all types of training combined. Statistically significant positive effects on productivity are found both for all training and for general training, but not for specific training. The posit...

Higher rates of economic growth in recent years have led Ireland from being a country characterised by emigration to one where population inflows have become an important issue. This paper contains an analysis of one element of the current inflow. Drawing on data collected in 1998 on over 800 Irish individuals who had graduated from Irish colleges...

This paper considers the issue of whether the 140,000 people still on the Live Register at a time of boom contained a high proportion of "unemployables". It devises a clear operational definition of employability and, using both national and local data, concludes that the proportion of persons on the Register who could be considered unemployable wa...

We examine what has happened to earnings inequality and the returns to education in Ireland between 1987 and 1997. We find that while both increased between 1987 and 1994, the increases slowed dramatically between 1994 and 1997. We look to immigration as being a contributing factor to this pattern because a large group of skilled workers flowed int...

The purpose of this paper is to review what has been learnt about Irish migration from the work of social scientists, largely economists. For most of its modern history, Ireland has experienced large net outflows. I discuss how the outflow was made up of lower skilled people up until the 1980s but how more recent outflows have contained more highly...

Using data from two large-scale household surveys in 1987 and 1994, we estimate wage equations which show substantial increases in returns to university education for young Irish workers over the period, despite the exceptional increase in numbers with these qualifications. Returns to non-degree third level certificates and diplomas fell in relativ...

Institutional factors and increased supply of skilled labour have been advanced in an effort to explain why some countries have experienced smaller increases in earnings dispersion and in returns to education than the USA and the UK. Ireland has had a highly centralized wage bargaining structure and the supply of skilled labour has increased sharpl...

This paper applies the familiar theoretical distinction between general and specific training to the empirical task of estimating the returns to in-company training. Given the theoretical prediction that employees who receive general training are more likely to quit, the productivity effects of general training should be lower than those of specifi...

This report summarizes six case studies on different aspects of the issue of evaluating investing in continuing vocational training (CVT). Part 1 (chapters 1-2) contains "Conceptual Introduction" (Jean-Marie Luttringer), which explores practical problems in considering training expenses as an investment, and "Methodological Introduction" (Alan Barr...

A research review finds that (1) return on investment in training has rarely been calculated; (2) training has positive effects on wages and productivity; (3) different types of training have different effects on productivity; and (4) individuals and employers have objectives for training other than wages and productivity. (SK)

The increased supply of skilled labour and institutional factors have been advanced in an effort to explain why some countries have experienced smaller increases in earnings dispersion and in returns to education relative to the United States. Ireland’s supply of skilled labour has increased sharply in recent years and it has had a highly centraliz...

Discussions of municipal solid waste (MSW) management are influenced increasingly by the concept of the waste hierarchy which, broadly speaking, places landfill as the least acceptable option for dealing with MSW, followed by incineration, recycling, re-use and reduction at source. In this paper, we want to question the wisdom of applying the waste...

The skill levels of immigrants entering the United States has declined in recent decades, but most immigrants to the United States continue to be admitted on the basis of family contacts, without reference to labour market characteristics. This situation has given rise to a debate about the criteria on which immigrants are admitted or excluded. In...

An hypothesis is developed regarding the relative labor-market quality of immigrants admitted on the basis of the visa lotteries and those admitted on the basis of family ties. This is then tested using data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

The issue addressed in this paper is whether or not the decline in immigrant labor-market quality in the U.S. observed in the late 1960`s and 1970`s continued in the 1980`s. Two other papers, Borjas (1995) and Funkhouser and Trejo (1995), have addressed the issue and have come up with contradictory results. In this paper I use a different data set,...

None

None