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.

Targeting poverty : lessons from monitoring Ireland’s National Anti-Poverty Strategy

Abstract: In 1997 the Irish government adopted the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS), a global target for the reduction of poverty which illuminates a range of issues relating to official poverty targets. The Irish target is framed in terms of a relative poverty measure incorporating both relative income and direct measures of deprivation based on data on the extent of poverty from 1994. Since 1994 Ireland has experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth that makes it particularly important to assess whether the target has been achieved, but in doing so we cannot avoid asking some underlying questions about how poverty should be measured and monitored over time. After briefly outlining the nature of the NAPS measure, this article examines trends in poverty in Ireland between 1987 and 1997. Results show that the relative income and deprivation components of the NAPS measure reveal differential trends with increasing relative income poverty, but decreasing deprivation. However, this differential could be due to the fact that the direct measures of deprivation upon which NAPS is based have not been updated to take account of changes in real living standards and increasing expectations. To test whether this is so, we examine the extent to which expectations about living standards and the structure of deprivation have changed over time using confirmatory factor analysis and tests of criterion validity using different definitions of deprivation. Results show that the combined income and deprivation measure, as originally constituted, continues to identify a set of households experiencing generalised deprivation resulting from a lack of resources.

"The Sooner the Better I Could Get out of There": Barriers to Higher Education Access in Ireland.

Abstract: As economic circumstances in Ireland, as elsewhere, remain difficult and applications for higher education entry reach record numbers, there has been renewed focus on higher education access. This article draws on the findings of a major Irish study which focuses on a group that has not shared in the general trend towards increased higher education participation – the offspring of the ‘lower non manual’ group. This article draws on the findings of that study to examine the barriers such young people face in accessing higher education. It is based on a combined analysis of 10 years of School Leavers’ Survey data and in-depth life-history interviews with school leavers whose parent(s) were employed in such non-manual jobs. Overall, the study points to the role of cultural, educational and economic factors shaping the higher education entry patterns of young people. It addition it highlights the importance of examining within as well between class patterns of educational attainment.

The use of a dietary quality score as a predictor of childhood overweight and obesity

Abstract: The use of dietary quality scores/indices to describe diet quality in children has increased in the past decade. However, to date, few studies have focused on the use of these scores on disease outcomes such as childhood obesity and most are developed from detailed dietary assessments. Therefore, the aims of this study were: firstly to construct a diet quality score (DQS) from a brief dietary assessment tool; secondly to examine the association between diet quality and childhood overweight or obesity; thirdly we also aim to examine the associations between individual DQS components and childhood overweight or obesity. A secondary analysis of cross sectional data of a sample of 8,568 9-year-old children and their families as part of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study. Subjects were drawn from a probability proportionate to size sampling of primary schools throughout Ireland over the school year 2007–2008. Height and weight were measured by trained researchers using standardised methods and BMI was classified using the International Obesity Taskforce cut-points. The DQS (un-weighted) was developed using a 20-item, parent reported, food frequency questionnaire of foods consumed over the past 24 h. Adjusted odds ratios for overweight and obesity were examined by DQS quintile, using the first quintile (highest diet quality) as the reference category. The prevalence of normal weight, overweight and obese was 75, 19 and 6 % respectively. DQS ranged from -5 to 25, higher scores indicated higher diet quality in the continuous score. In analyses adjusted for gender, parent’s education, physical activity and T.V. viewing, child obesity but not overweight was significantly associated with poor diet quality: OR of 1.56 (95 % CI 1.02 2.38) in the 5th compared to the 1st DQS quintile. Findings from individual food items were inconsistent. The findings suggest that diet quality may be an important factor in childhood obesity. A simple DQS developed from a short dietary assessment tool is significantly associated with childhood obesity.

Handbook of Quality of Life in the Enlarged European Union

Abstract: Editors' Introduction: The New Member States Before and After Accession Part 1: Fertility, Families and Households 1. Fertility Patterns and Aspirations in Europe Tony Fahey 2. Patterns of Family Living in Europe Chiara Saraceno 3. Is There a Generational Cleavage in Europe? Inter-Generational Patterns in the Perception of Pensions and Elderly Care Wolfgang Keck, Agnes Blome, and Jens Alber 4. Family Policies in the Enlarged European Union Thomas Bahle Part 2: Employment and Working Conditions 5. Employment Patterns in the Enlarged European Union Jens Alber 6. Working Conditions Claire Wallace and Florian Pichler 7. Regulation of Labour Markets in Europe Jelle Visser Part 3: Material Living Conditions 8. Poverty and Social Exclusion in an Enlarged Europe Christopher T. Whelan and Bertrand Maitre 9. Minimum Income Policies in Old and New Member States Bea Cantillon 10. Housing Conditions and Their Perception: The Paradox of Housing Henryk Domanski 11. Housing Policies and Institutional Drivers of Housing Inequalities Michelle Norris Part 4: Social Capital and Social Cohesion 12. Patterns of Sociability in the Enlarged Europe Manuela Olagnero and Paola Torrioni 13. Feeling Left Out: Patterns of Social Integration and Exclusion Petra Boehnke 14. Conflicts and Threats to Social Cohesion in New and Old Member States Jan Delhey and Wolfgang Keck Part 5: Processes of Europeanization 15. Patterns of Cross-Border Migration Hubert Krieger 16. Where we Stand in Europe: An Europeanization of Reference Groups for Social Comparisons? Jan Delhey and Ulrich Kohler 17. Conclusions: Similarities and Differences of Living Conditions: Does Europe Grow Together? The Editors 18. Methodological Appendix: A Quality Assessment of Different European Surveys: Towards an Open Method of Coordination for Survey Data Ulrich Kohler