Income: The Gender Divide
There are many measures examining differences in various socio-economic characteristics among men and women. In general, women are better educated, healthier, live longer but earn less - factors which in themselves point towards gaps in societal equality for both sexes. Focusing just on income, it...
Monday Blog: We need a change of course and we need it now
While caution is always advisable in examining the latest quarterly data, the release by the Central Statistics Office of the latest quarterly national accounts was something of a wake-up call to those eager for news of a recovery. The Republic of Ireland is in a deep stagnation. The downturn has...
Monday Blog: If Governments were really only like households
A visitor from outer space might be forgiven for concluding that the only or main economic problem confronting European States was deficit and debts - Government deficits and debts. The corollary of this problem is - of course - austerity to cure the ailment. Or is it? Lets compare the Government...
Fiscal Stimulus, Unemployment and House Prices
The latest NERI seminar, from Kieran McQuinn and Robert Kelly of the Central Bank, examined the relationship between unemployment and house prices and used this relationship to examine the impact on banking defaults / mortgage defaults of economic growth. Modelling a fiscal stimulus of €2b, they...
Ireland has the lowest Tax Wedge in Europe
The tax wedge measures the difference between the total labour costs to the employer (wages + employers PRSI) and the corresponding net take-home pay for an employee (gross wages - all income taxes and PRSI). It is generally reported as a percentage of total labour costs. The latest OECD figures for...
Tax Revenue Stability and Corporation Tax
One of the lessons of the recent economic collapse (I hope!) has been the importance of a stable tax base. Total stability is impossible for a small open economy like Ireland; we will always have swings in economic performance which will alter the volume of economic transactions and tax revenues...
Monday Blog: Households and Governments: how they differ
The gap between what the Government in Ireland takes in and what it spends is running at a rate of €1 billion every month. Clearly this is not sustainable in the long-run because it adds to the total amount of debt owed by citizens year after year. The total amount of debt owed by the Government on...
How much income do you need in retirement?
Pensions and pension's policy are back on the agenda following the recent release of the OECD report on the Irish pensions system. Details and the document are here: http://www.welfare.ie/en/pressoffice/Pages/pr220413.aspx At the core of much discussion on pension issues is the question of what is...
Republic of Ireland’s economic outlook remains challenging
The Nevin Economic Research Institute has published our latest Quarterly Economic Observer (Wednesday 10th April). In it we outline our latest set of projections for the Republic of Ireland economy. These suggest a period of low-growth and high-unemployment for the next three years and include: •...