Job Mobility in Ireland

This paper investigates the factors that determine job-to-job mobility in Ireland over the period 1995 to 2001. It finds that labour market experience, working in the public sector, human capital, whether a person is overskilled and the sector they work in are important determinants of job change. In addition, the paper finds the rate of job mobility in Ireland practically doubled over the period. The sample is divided into two time periods and a decomposition technique is applied to ascertain how much of the increase in mobility is attributable to compositional changes and how much is due to other factorsJob Mobility

Estimating the Impact of Immigration in Ireland

The core objective of this paper is to review the research which has been undertaken on estimating the economic impacts of immigration in Ireland. By way of providing context, the paper begins with an overview of Ireland’s recent experience of immigration and of the research which has been conducted on the associated issues such as the characteristics and experiences of immigrants. As the approach taken to estimating the impacts of immigration is based on simulations using a model of Ireland’s labour market, details of the model are provided. Results from two studies are then presented. One study tended to show unambiguously positive outcomes, such as increased national output and reduced earnings inequality. However, a second study called into question the earlier findings on earnings inequality. While immigrants in Ireland are generally high-skilled, many were found to be working in occupations below their skill levels. Hence, high-skilled immigrants may be competing in the labour market with low-skilled natives. Accounting for this in the simulation exercises showed how immigration may have negatively impacted upon the earnings of low-skilled workers in Ireland.Immigration, Ireland, wages

JOB MOBILITY IN IRELAND. ESRI Research Bulletin 2009/2/5

The movement of workers from one job to another allows workers and firms to adapt to changing economic and personal circumstances. Job mobility contributes to the efficient working of the labour market; as workers can seek out new jobs in which they can be more productive and for which they will be better rewarded. Internationally, changing jobs appears to be an important part of worker’s experience in the labour market. However, little is known about job mobility in an Irish context. Recent research by Adele Bergin helps to establish the prevalence of job changing in Ireland, how it has changed over time, and the types of worker most likely to switch jobs

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

The purpose of this paper is twofold. We first produce a labour market profile of non- Irish immigrants who arrived in Ireland in the ten years to 2003. We then go on to use the labour market profile in estimating the impact of immigration (non-Irish) on the Irish labour market. Immigrants are shown to be a highly educated group. However, they are not all employed in occupations that fully reflect their education levels. The model of the labour market that we use to simulate the impact of immigration differentiates between low-skilled and high-skilled labour. This allows us to estimate the impact of immigrants (a) if they were employed at a level fitting their education and (b) if they were employed in occupations below their educational level. Our results show that under scenario (a) immigrants who arrived between 1993 and 2003 increased GNP by between 3.5 and 3.7 per cent, largely by lowering skilled wages by around 6 per cent and increasing Ireland’s competitiveness. Under scenario (b), the increase in GNP is reduced to 3 per cent because the impact on skilled wages is lower. If we assume that immigration is primarily unskilled, the impact on earnings inequality found under (a) and (b) is reversed.

Overeducation in Europe: Trends, Convergence and Drivers

This paper examines patterns in overeducation between countries using a specifically designed panel dataset constructed from the quarterly Labour Force Surveys of 28 EU countries over a twelve to fifteen year period. It is not the case that overeducation has been rising rapidly over time in all countries and where overeducation has grown the trend has been very gradual. Furthermore, overeducation rates were found to be static or falling in approximately fifty percent of the 28 EU countries. The evidence points towards convergence in overeducation at a rate of 3.3 percent per annum. In terms of the determinants of overeducation we find evidence to support policies aimed at improving effective female participation, labour market flexibility and the practical aspects of educational provision as a means of reducing the incidence of overeducation within countries

Human Capital, the Labour Market and Productivity Growth in Ireland. ESRI WP158. September 2004

Recent developments in growth theory1 suggest that factors such as human capital accumulation are central to the growth process of an economy through raising productivity and increasing a country’s ability to develop and facilitate technology. In these models policies that raise the level of human capital can permanently increase the growth rate. The Irish economy presents a highly interesting case-study of this hypothesis. Ireland2 is a small, highly-traded economy which witnessed dramatic growth rates in the 1990s with a doubling of output, a 40% increase in employment and a 60% fall in levels of unemployment. This remarkable performance led to rapid convergence in per capita output with the EU average

Estimating the Impact of Immigration on the Wages in Ireland

We estimate the impact of immigration on the wages of natives in Ireland applying the technique proposed by Borjas (2003). Under this method, the labour market is divided into a number of skill cells, where the cells are defined by groups with similar ages and levels of education (or age and occupation). Regression analysis is then employed to assess whether the average wages of natives across skill cells is affected by the share of immigrants across cells. When the cells are based on education/age, our results suggest a negative relationship between native wages and immigrant shares. However, the opposite appears to hold when the cells are based on occupation/age. These contradictory findings suggest that care should be exercised when applying this method as inaccurate impressions of the impact of immigration on wages may arise.

EVALUATION OF PLC PROGRAMME PROVISION. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 61 JANUARY 2018

Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses represent the largest component of full-time further education and training (FET) provision in Ireland, with over 32,000 learners enrolled in such courses in 2015–2016. Recent research on the FET sector as a whole highlighted concerns around its structures and responsiveness to labour market conditions, among other issues (McGuinness et al., 2014). The SOLAS FET Strategy (2014) subsequently pointed to the need for a stronger evidence base in order to inform future policy development in the sector. This study, commissioned by SOLAS, provides a more detailed evaluation of PLC provision. In order to undertake a comprehensive evaluation, our approach has been to combine a variety of research modes in order to examine the underlying processes, experiences and outcomes of PLC provision. This involved three complementary research strands. Firstly, a desk-based analysis of administrative data was used to document the type of provision in terms of field of study and the distribution of PLC places across the country. Secondly, a survey of PLC principals was carried out in order to explore their perceptions of goals, adequacy of existing facilities and the benefits and challenges of PLC provision. Thirdly, a survey of PLC and Leaving Certificate leavers was conducted to assess their labour market outcomes as well as their experiences while taking PLC and higher education courses. Together, these strands provide comprehensive evidence to inform the future development of the sector

ESTABLISHING IDENTITY OF NON-EU NATIONALS IN IRISH MIGRATION PROCESSES. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 71 JULY 2018

The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) represents a major component of Ireland’s community development strategy, led by the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD).1 Pobal managed the initial set-up and design phase of the social inclusion programme and has responsibility for a wide range of programme functions. The SICAP programme budget for 2016 was €35.8 million. SICAP aims to tackle poverty, social exclusion and inequality through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies. In order for SICAP to succeed in meeting its goal, it is important that the programme can successfully target the individuals who are most in need of assistance. The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of the extent to which SICAP clients experience potential barriers to economic and social inclusion. We focus on five key potential barriers, which reflect some of the groups explicitly targeted under SICAP and have also been shown internationally to represent significant challenges to inclusion. They are: (a) belonging to a jobless household, (b) being a lone parent, (c) having a disability, (d) being homeless or affected by housing exclusion and (e) belonging to an ethnic minority. The aim of this study is to inform policy by shedding light on a number of issues: 1. individual characteristics that are most common among individuals reporting potential barriers to social inclusion; 2. the extent to which the incidence of potential barriers varies according to spatial dimensions such as the area level of deprivation, population density or urbanicity; 3. potential implications of the findings for the future administration of the SICAP programme