Monday Blog: The rising cost of health
Human health is the number one priority for people. Living a healthy life and enjoying well-being of mind and health of body is something that we all aspire to. Public policy can play a vital role in informing, equipping and resourcing people to achieve better health. As Irish society ages there...
Employees and the Self-Employed: an earnings profile
Despite its relevance to broad areas of public policy, detailed assessments of the structure and distribution of the income of workers in the Republic of Ireland has been limited. The latest NERI Research inBrief examines the distribution of work related earnings for both employees and the self...
Little point in many mothers returning to work
It makes little financial sense for many Irish mothers to return to work – that’s the conclusion of a new EU research study looking at the realities of the back-to-work choice faced by women across EU member states. The study, by Olga Rastrigina and Alina Verashchagina, focuses on the financial...
Recent changes in public sector employment in OECD countries
The scale of public sector employment varies considerably across developed economies; however, the vast majority of EU member states are in a process of reducing the size of central government employment—between 2008 and 2013, Sweden was the only EU country that increased the number of general...
Monday Blog: Northern Ireland at a crossroads
In recent weeks Northern Ireland has been more to the fore in the news in the Republic of Ireland, As a general rule you know that the economy and society of Northern Ireland are not in such bad shape when they seem to disappear from the news in southern Ireland. The troubles were a regular daily...
Monday Blog: UK 'Living Wage' move announced
It is estimated that around 166,700 employees, or 23% of the total in Northern Ireland earned below £7.20 per hour in April 2014. On the face of it, UK Chancellor, George Osborne's announcement that the UK minimum wage would rise to £7.20 by next year is good news for many of these workers. In the...
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...
The Structural Balance - Where Facts become blurred
Ireland is expected to successfully exit the corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) at the end of 2015. From 2016 onwards Irish budgetary policy will be subject to the requirements of the preventive arm of the SGP as well as being subject to national budgetary rules. The preventive...
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 - Review of 2014
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2014: Ageing well 22-Dec Demographics Pensions, Social wage The Wages Elephant is in the Domestic Parlour 15-Dec Wages Macro economy, Social wage Imagining a different society 08-Dec Vision Investment, Social wage Things you always wanted to know about...