Economic and Social Research Institute

About: Economic and Social Research Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Dublin, Ireland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & European union. The organization has 425 authors who have published 1530 publications receiving 41567 citations.

The Performance of Trading Firms in the Services Sectors – Comparable Evidence from Four EU Countries

Abstract: We examine trade complexity and the implications of adding additional dimensions of trade for firm performance among services producers. We use unique firm-level data to compare these patterns across four EU countries. Overall, services firms are relatively less engaged in trade than manufacturing firms; they mostly trade goods and are more likely to import than to export. Trade in services is quite rare; services are more likely to be traded by firms already trading goods. Trading firms in the services sectors are significantly larger, more productive and pay higher wages than non-traders. Two-way traders outperform one-way traders. Changes in trading status by either adding another dimension of trade (imports, exports) or another type of product (goods, services) are infrequent and are associated with significant preswitching premia. In contrast, learning effects from switching trading status are uncommon. This points to significant fixed cost of being engaged in trade and confirms some previous findings that trading services firms have similar traits as their manufacturing counterparts. Apart from greater trade participation in smaller countries, we do not observe systematic differences in terms of trade or switching premia between the four countries that might be attributable to differences in country characteristics.

Estimating the Impact of Immigration in Ireland

Abstract: 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.

A comparison of GP visiting in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Abstract: Title A comparison of GP visiting in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Authors(s) McGregor, Patrick; Nolan, Anne; Nolan, Brian; O'Neill, Ciaran Publication date 2006-04 Series ESRI Research Programme on Health Services, Health Inequalities and Health and Social Gain; No. 22 Publisher ESRI, ISSC & University of Ulster Link to online version http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publications/20080904165330/OPEA059.pdf Item record/more information http://hdl.handle.net/10197/1062 Publisher's statement Working Papers are not for publication and should not be quoted without the prior permission of the author(s)

Fiscal Consolidation and its Cross-Country Effects

Abstract: We build a new Keynesian DSGE model consisting of two heterogeneous countries participating in a monetary union. We study how public debt consolidation in a country with high debt (like Italy) affects welfare in a country with solid public finances (like Germany). Our results show that debt consolidation in the high-debt country benefits the country with solid public finances over all time horizons. By constrast, in Italy, namely the country that takes the consolidation measures, such a policy is productive only in the medium and long term. Thus, although there is a conflict of national interests in shorter horizons, there is a common interest in the medium and long term. All this is with optimized feedback policy rules. By contrast, debt consolidation is welfare inferior to non-consolidation for both countries and all the time, if it is implemented in an ad hoc way, like an increase in income taxes. Therefore, the policy mix is important.