Ireland's labour costs in the business economy continue to be amongst the lowest in Western Europe. Labour costs differ from wages in that they also include other costs faced by employers such as PRSI. Therefore labour costs are a far more relevant way to compare competitiveness across countries...

The publication, recently, by the Central Statistics Office of results from their Quarterly National Household Survey for the year to June 2013 has provided a welcome respite to the generally negative employment news since the beginning of 2008. Employment is now increasing across most sectors and...

As we move towards another austerity budget (October 2013) it is useful to consider Government's choices in the context of the structure of earnings. Despite its relevance, limited attention tends to be given to the distribution of earnings and income in the formation of policy options and decisions...

In the context of the recent international financial crisis, one principally derived from the reckless speculative behaviour of numerous banking and financial corporations, the long-term hesitancy towards a financial transactions tax (FTT) tax has begun to thaw. Most recently the European Commission...

The unemployment rate in Northern Ireland fell below that of the UK for the 3 months to the end of June this year. This is welcome news, but as with all economic and labour market data, a quick glance never reveals the true story. While the numbers unemployed fell by 6,000, the numbers employed only...

The latest NERI Research inBrief, entitled Income Distribution, Pre-distribution and Re-distribution: latest data for the Republic of Ireland, provides the latest information on income distribution in the Republic of Ireland. Pre-distribution, the direct income distribution reflects a large...

Taxation options are a key context for the forthcoming Budget (October). However, given the distortionary effect of any taxation change, and the fragility of the domestic economy, any choices around raising additional tax revenues are challenging. These challenges are magnified given the notable...