Monday Blog: Nothing comes from nothing: the case of health
Health is better than gold or ‘is fearr an tsláinte ná an t-ór’ as the saying goes in Irish. Economists and statisticians tend to think of health as a cost as well as a sphere of activity involving consumption of resources in the present time. Health, however, has two dimensions: (i) It is a state...
Life on low pay – new insights
The latest NERI Research inBrief looks at those who are on low pay in the Republic of Ireland. Its key points are Low pay is more common among: - female workers; - younger workers; - those in the retail, hotel and security sectors; - single parents; and - those on temporary contracts. At the...
Monday Blog: What is a prudent fiscal space?
One of the impacts of the recent economic crisis is that new expressions have been added to the English language, as spoken here. One such example is ‘fiscal space’. When the economy is growing there is, at one and the same time, more demand for public services (more school pupils and more demand...
Monday Blog: Economic uncertainty
(this blog was composed prior to the recent tragic events in Paris. My thoughts and prayer are with the people of France and all nations suffering from acts of war and terror). Best of Times? was the title of a book published by researchers at the ESRI in the summer of 2007. The book followed on...
What do we really mean by ‘middle earners’?
The recent Budget, and much of the commentary which accompanied it, contained recurring references to ‘middle-earners’ – almost all of it without any basis in the various numbers available on the Irish income and earnings distribution. New data from the Revenue Commissioners, published following...
Monday Blog: The fiscal implications of Irish unity
For a long time Irish history was marked by a surprising degree of consensus in favour of a united Ireland – whether as a united and politically independent island or as part of the United Kingdom. Since 1922, there has been a marked lack of consensus about where Northern Ireland’s future lies...
Monday Blog: Sustainable pensions in Northern Ireland
In a previous Monday Blog I discussed some issues in relation to ageing population and future pension provision in the Republic of Ireland ( Living Long and Living Well? ). This Blog focuses on Northern Ireland where many of the same patterns, concerns and long-term questions arise. Currently there...
NERI Post Budget Seminar
The NERI seminar series resumed yesterday with an analysis of Budget 2016—presentations from each of the three speakers are available below. The speakers outlined the budgetary choices facing Irish society with a special focus on issues related to childcare and housing. Thanks to Michael Taft (...
Almost 1 in 5 children live in poverty
This weeks ‘family budget’ has helped highlight the challenges Irish society continues to face regarding the provision of adequate and affordable childcare, the ability of second earners with children to join the labour force and the ongoing need for substantial investment in early childhood care...
Monday Blog: Budgeting for the future
The proposed budget for 2016 (Republic of Ireland) will go for approval by the relevant European authorities in the coming weeks. One can expect a favourable outcome from that quarter albeit with a caution that the Government ought to be spending less and paying down more of the national debt. In...