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 Irish health system: developments in strategy, structure, funding and delivery since 1980

Abstract: As the Irish health system embarks upon its first major structural reorganisation in over 30 years, developments within this system over the past two decades are assessed. Real cuts in health expenditure achieved in the 1980s contrast sharply with the unprecedented increase in resources devoted to the health system in the 1990s. While successive statements of health strategy have prioritised the objectives of equity, efficiency and quality of care, questions arise regarding the return achieved with the increased investment. With higher levels of economic growth, more people have been buying private health insurance such that almost half the population are now privately insured. At the same time, the numbers with eligibility for health services without charge have decreased while those from lower socio-economic groups continue to have higher levels of utilisation. Equity issues arise, however, with regard to access to public hospitals as the rate of growth in admissions for private patients outstrips that for public patients. The establishment of a National Treatment Purchase Fund to purchase treatment in private facilities for public patients on waiting lists raises efficiency and equity questions as the treatment of private patients in public hospitals is heavily subsidised while the State pays full cost for the treatment of public patients in private facilities.

The Irish ‘health basket’: a basket case?

Abstract: The Irish health care system is typically described as complex and inequitable and yet the source of the complexity is difficult to identify This paper examines and documents the way in which the structure of the Irish system is complicated when compared with other countries Analysis is conducted in the context of the ‘health basket’ framework A health basket describes which health care services, and which individuals, are covered by public funding, and to what extent The Irish health basket is outlined along three dimensions of breadth, depth, and height, and compared with the health baskets of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Sweden and France Results indicate that it is in the combination of breadth and height that distinguishes the Irish basket from others The majority of Irish health care services are run on a cost sharing basis; user fees are higher than in other countries particularly in primary care; and the structure of entitlement restrictions are complex It is difficult to identify other countries in which all these factors operate within one system In addition, the way in which the Irish health basket is delivered in practice introduces further complexities into the breadth and height of coverage

Why Firms Avoid Cutting Wages Survey Evidence from European Firms

Abstract: Firms very rarely cut nominal wages, even in the face of considerable negative economic shocks. This paper uses a unique survey of fourteen European countries to ask firms directly about the incidence of wage cuts and to assess the relevance of a range of potential reasons for why the firms avoid cutting wages. The paper examines how firm characteristics and collective bargaining institutions affect the relevance of each of the common explanations put forward for the infrequency of wage cuts. Concerns about the retention of productive staff and a lowering of morale and effort were reported as key reasons for downward wage rigidity across all countries and firm types. Restrictions created by collective bargaining were found to be an important consideration for firms in Western European (EU-15) countries but were one of the lowest ranked obstacles in the new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe.

Predictors of satisfaction with housing and neighbourhood: A nationwide study in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract: The present paper reports results from a nationwide study, based on a representative sample in the Republic of Ireland It is part of a harmonised study of subjective social indicators which has been carried out in eight member countries of the European Community The data, which were obtained by survey techniques, are largely subjective or perceptual in nature However, objective data were also obtained, thus permitting direct comparisons, in many cases, between objective conditions and subjective measures related to housing and neighbourhood to determine which characteristics were most highly predictive of overall satisfaction with housing and overall satisfaction with neighbourhood In addition, the relationships between housing and neighbourhood variables and more global attitudinal variables (ie, life satisfaction and anomia) were explored