Monday Blog: TTIP - the best thing since the invention of sliced pan bread?
There is widespread official support for the Transatlantic Trade, Investment Partnership (TTIP) across European member states – especially in the Republic of Ireland where the level of enthusiasm and zeal for promoting TTIP exceeds that of other member states. TTIP is seen as a saving grace to pull...
Monday Blog: It's all about choices
With a general election in the Republic of Ireland looming sometime between now and this time next year it is timely to consider what choices and policy options are appropriate. The Nevin Economic Research Institute is not associated with any political party or platform. Our job is to undertake...
Employment in the public sector
As shown in the latest edition of the Quarterly Economic Facts, the public sector in the Republic of Ireland accounts for 18.4 per cent of total employment—not far from the average level across OECD countries. The public sector employees make up 20 per cent of the total number of people working in...
Low Pay and the Living Wage
At a meeting earlier this week, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation focused on the topic of Low Pay and the Living Wage. In a contribution to the committee, I first outlined some context for their examination of these issues, before going into more detail on the concept...
Where now for employment growth in Northern Ireland
The construction sector in Northern Ireland saw the largest fall in employment across the economy. Even now, over six years since the property crash there are still 30% fewer jobs in the sector than there were in 2008. Many of the jobs in the construction sector would have been mid-level skilled...
Annual Labour Market Conference: Call for Papers
NERI Labour Market Conference The NERI—in conjunction with Centre for Irish Business & Economic Performance , Queen’s University Management School— will host the third annual NERI Labour Market Conference on 1 May 2015. The event will be held in Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast. The...
Unemployment across the EU 28
For many countries in Europe significant, unexploited sources of economic growth remain and unemployment rates across the EU 28 are well above the level recorded before the recession started in 2008—though they have dropped slightly from a peak in early 2013. With an average unemployment rate of 17...
Work, Welfare, Taxes and Unemployment Traps
As the economic recovery takes root, there are welcome improvements in the levels of employment and continued decreases in unemployment. Looking across 2015, the latest NERI projections (December 2014) suggest employment growth of 2.1% this year with unemployment falling to 10.4%. As policy pursues...
Monday Blog: Riches and Poverty
Two statistical releases from the Central Statistics Office in recent weeks did not attract as much public attention as deserved. One report concerns trends and distribution of income ( EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions ) while the other concerns the level and distribution of wealth in...
Monday Blog: Did austerity work?
Fiscal austerity is the topic of a conference being held today in Dublin. The question is asked: did austerity work in Ireland? A key consideration is not what might have happened if the fiscal consolidation had not been done, but, if it had been done differently with no cuts to public capital...