The impact of precarious work on wages, productivity and economic growth
Temporary, short-term forms of employment in the early stages of an economic recovery are a well-established feature of the labour market; however, recent research by the OECD has raised the concern that this practice has become a more deeply ingrained, lasting characteristic in the world of work...
Monday Blog: Social and economic investment holds the key
Spending on productive capacity includes not just ‘bricks and mortar’ but all those resources that give rise to socially useful results over time. Spend today and reap a return in the future: this is the logic of investment. It can cover investment in education and skills as well as investment in...
Monday Blog - Review of 2013
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2013: Title Date Main Keyword Other Keywords Economic Development with a purpose 23-Dec Vision Taxation, Public spending, Jobs Where to now (Post-Troika)? 16-Dec Domestic economy Taxation, Vision, Jobs A Modest Proposal 09-Dec Investment Jobs, Domestic...
Monday Blog: Address to the ICTU Biennial Conference 2015
President, I would like to thank the General Secretary and the Executive Council for inviting me to introduce this debate on the economy. The motions concern more than just the key areas of employment, wages, pensions and public finances. An economy that works is one that enables workers, their...
Monday Blog: All islands economy
The development of closer economic ties between both parts of Ireland has been a feature of growing European integration as well as the establishment of a ‘peace dividend’ following the Good Friday agreement of 1998. While much research work has been undertaken in relation to cross-border and all...
NERI Seminar Dublin: The financial position of Irish households
This presentation introduces a novel dataset on households’ income, assets and debts in Ireland: the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). The HFCS is an invaluable resource for policy makers, allowing for household-level analysis of the composition of wealth and debt, leverage and the...
Still a high income country – despite the recession
Indicator 4.1 from the NERI’s latest Quarterly Economics Facts (QEF) document shows that despite the elongated economic crisis, the Republic of Ireland’s income per capita remains high. The latest data, for 2013, show that Ireland’s average income of €35,600 is the sixth highest in the EU. The...
NERI Seminar: Examining the Net Wealth of Irish Households
The latest NERI seminar took place on Wednesday 22 April 2015. Dr Reamonn Lydon, Central Bank of Ireland, presented research based on a novel dataset on households’ income, assets and debts in Ireland: the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). The HFCS is an invaluable resource for policy...
NERI Seminar: A Future Worth Working For
Yesterday's seminar given by the Director of the NERI, Tom Healy, focused on setting the parameters for a clear, long-term vision for the Irish economy to emerge. The seminar is based on a recent working paper that argues this vision must be based on concrete goals that can be observed, measured and...
The social wage as a mechanism for a widespread recovery in living standards
Recovery has begun. However, the economic collapse and years of aggressive reductions in government spending mean the recovery is starting from a position where key public services are stretched, state-sponsored family supports diminished, core welfare rates cut for those under 26, and a lack of...