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 'healthy immigrant effect': breastfeeding behaviour in Ireland.

Abstract: Background: The benefits of breastfeeding for babies, mothers and society have been demonstrated in a large scientific literature. Irish rates of breastfeeding are amongst the lowest in Europe (in 2010, Ireland had the lowest breastfeeding initiation rate of 14 European countries). One of the most distinctive features of breastfeeding behaviour in Ireland is the large difference in breastfeeding rates between immigrants to Ireland and the Irish-born. Data from the 2010 Irish National Perinatal Reporting System show that just 46.1% of Irish-born mothers were breastfeeding at hospital discharge, in comparison with 84.2% of immigrant mothers. Descriptive patterns suggest that breastfeeding behaviour in Ireland may exhibit a ‘healthy immigrant’ effect, whereby the health status and behaviours of immigrants are better than the native-born on arrival, but converge to native levels as length of time since migration increases. Methods: Using nationally representative data from two cohorts of children in Ireland, the purpose of this article is to examine the evidence for a ‘healthy immigrant’ effect with respect to breastfeeding behaviour. Results: The results indicate that immigrants are significantly more likely to breastfeed than Irish-born mothers, but that immigrant breastfeeding rates converge towards Irish-born rates of breastfeeding as length of time since migration increases. Conclusion: The decline in breastfeeding behaviour among immigrants to Ireland with length of time since migration highlights the need for appropriate interventions aimed at countering the particular negative attitudes to breastfeeding that are observed in Irish society.

Young, poor, and sick: The public health threat of energy poverty for children in Ireland

Abstract: Children, particularly those of preschool ages (below 3 years), spend the majority of time indoors in the family home. Home conditions can impact upon occupant’s health, with energy poverty identified as a public health concern in Europe and internationally. Children growing up in energy poor homes may be especially vulnerable to health impacts, though the area is relatively understudied. This study addresses a gap in understanding, examining the effect of household energy poverty on the health of resident children using longitudinal data from two cohorts – an Infant Cohort (aged 9 months to 5 years) and a Child Cohort (aged 9 years to 17–18 years), growing up in Ireland. Panel logistic regression models adjust for a range of covariates including socioeconomic and household information as well as smoking in the household. For the Infant Cohort, household energy poverty was associated with a 1.41 times higher odds of child respiratory illness (p = 0.003; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.12–1.77), and 1.47 times the odds of child wheezing (p

What Works, Who Works? The Employment and Earnings Effects of Active Labour Market Programmes among Young People in Ireland:

Abstract: The international literature on active labour market programmes has generated inconsistent and confusing, but generally pessimistic, conclusions regarding their impact on the employment prospects o...