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.

Does maternal obesity explain trends in caesarean section rates? Evidence from a large Irish maternity hospital

Abstract: A feature of contemporary obstetrics in wealthy countries has been both the continuing increase in caesarean section (CS) rates and the emergence of high levels of maternal obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the increasing CS rate in a large university maternity hospital was attributable in part to maternal obesity. We studied all women who delivered a baby weighing ≥ 500 g from 2009 to 2014 in one of the largest maternity hospitals in Europe. Logistic regression techniques were employed to examine the contribution of trends in maternal BMI on the prevalence of CS. Obese women were more likely to be delivered by CS in 2014 than in 2009. Multivariate analysis shows that the increase in CS rates could not be explained by changes in obesity levels in either nulliparas or multiparas. The increase in CS rates during the 6 years was strongly associated with advancing maternal age, particularly for nulliparas. The study found that although the prevalence of being overweight or obese changed little over the period, the odds of having a CS if a woman is obese have increased for multiparas. For nulliparas, increasing CS rates were found to be strongly associated with an increase in maternal age over the period which is important because of the evidence that Irish women are choosing to defer having their first baby until later in life.

Effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: Using a large panel data set that samples over 4000 Japanese, we analyze changes in people’s subjective well-being (happiness) and altruistic worldview before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake. As a result we find that 1) more people replied that their happiness improved after the earthquake than said it worsened, and also that 2) many more Japanese people became more altruistic since the earthquake, even in the most affected areas. One possible interpretation of these results is that an increase in altruism due to the earthquake spurred people to give to charity, which in turn increased their happiness. Our regression analysis yields results that are consistent with this story.

Did the decline continue? Comparing the labor-market quality of United States immigrants from the late 1970s and late 1980s.

Abstract: The issue addressed in this paper is whether or not the decline in immigrant labor-market quality in the U.S. observed in the late 1960’s and 1970’s continued in the 1980vs. Two other papers, Borjas (1995) and Funkhouser and Trejo (1995), have addressed the issue and have come up with contradictory results. In this paper I use a different data set, one that has advantages over the data sets used in the other studies. Given the rise in earnings inequality that has occurred in the United States over the 1980’s, the returns to immigration for the more highly skilled will have increased relative to the low skilled, ceteris paribus. For this reason, it is possible that the skill decline of immigrants may have halted in the 1980’s as immigrants of differing skill levels respond to the altered circumstances they would face in the United States. The empirical results show that the skill decline did indeed halt, a result which gives support to the Funkhouser/ Trejo result.

Has the gender revolution stalled

Abstract: We examine change in multiple indicators of gender inequality for the period of 1970 to 2018 for the United States, and post-1990 data on some of those indicators for the Republic of Ireland. We consider gender inequality and its trend over time in educational attainment, employment, fields of study in higher education, occupations, and earnings. We conclude that there has been dramatic progress in movement toward gender equality, but, in recent decades, change has slowed, and, on some indicators, stalled entirely. The slowdown on some indicators and stall on others suggests that further movement toward gender equality will only occur if there is substantial institutional and cultural change, such as an increase in men’s participation in household and care work, governmental provision of childcare, and adoption by employers of policies that reduce gender discrimination and help both men and women combine jobs with family care responsibilities.