The Economic and Social Review, Spring 2006

April 21, 2006

News

21/04/2006

 

The Economic and Social Review, Spring 2006

The Economic and Social Review is published by Economic and Social Studies and distributed by the ESRI.

The Spring 2006 edition of the Economic and Social Review is published this week and contains the following papers of Irish policy interest:



The Labour Market Characteristics and Labour Market Impacts of Immigrants in Ireland

By Alan Barrett, Adele Bergin & David Duffy (ESRI).

The authors produce a labour market profile of immigrants who arrived in Ireland in the ten years to 2003. Although the immigrants are shown to be a highly educated group, they are not all employed in occupations that fully reflect their education levels. They estimate the impact of immigration on the Irish economy and find that immigrants who arrived between 1993 and 2003 increased GNP by between 3.5 and 3.7%, largely by lowering the wages of skilled workers and thereby increasing Ireland's competitiveness.



Trends in Economic Vulnerability in the Republic of Ireland

By Christopher T Whelan, Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maitre (ESRI).

This study examines trends in economic vulnerability defined as being at high risk of poverty, deprivation and economic stress. It concludes that reductions in such levels across the socio-economic spectrum indicate that the fruits of the economic boom have been distributed relatively widely.



The Economic Consequences of the Doha Round for Ireland

By Alan Matthews & Keith Walsh (Trinity College)

This paper provides a quantitative study of the economic effects of further trade liberalisation for Ireland. Welfare will increase, with particularly strong gains from services and industrial liberalisation, while agricultural liberalisation has a slightly negative effect on the overall economy.



GP Utilisation in Northern Ireland: Exploiting the Gatekeeper Function

By Pat McGregor, Pat McKee & Ciaran O'Neill (University of Ulster)

In Northern Ireland GPs act as gatekeepers to other health services. Granting such access provides important information on the severity of the patient's condition. Exploiting this, we find older people are not heavier users of GP services when health is controlled for. We also find evidence of inappropriate use of A&E services as a substitute for the GP.