Now showing 1 - 10 of 43
  • Publication
    Suicide in Ireland : the influence of alcohol and unemployment
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2010-10) ;
    In this paper we model the behaviour of the Irish suicide rate over the period 1968‐2009 using the unemployment rate and the level of alcohol consumption as explanatory variables. It is found that these variables have significant positive effects on suicide mortality in several demographic groups. Alcohol consumption is a significant influence on the male suicide rate up to age 64. Its influence on the female suicide rate is not as well‐established, although there is evidence that it is important in the 15‐24 and 25‐34 age groups. The unemployment rate is also a significant influence on the male suicide rate in the younger age groups. The behaviour of suicide rates among males aged 55 and over and females aged 25 and over is largely unaccounted for by our model. These broad conclusions hold when account is taken of a structural break in the 1980s, with the response to unemployment being greater in the earlier period and that to alcohol greater in the later period. The findings suggest that higher alcohol consumption played a major role in the increase in suicide mortality among young Irish males between the late 1960s and the end of the century. In the early twenty first century a combination of falling alcohol consumption and low unemployment led to a marked reduction in suicide rates, although there is some evidence that the suicide rate is being increasingly under‐reported in recent years. The recent rise in the suicide rate may be attributed to the sharp increase in unemployment, especially among males, but it has been moderated by the continuing fall in alcohol consumption. Some policy implications of the findings are discussed.
      801
  • Publication
      693
  • Publication
    Did (and does) the Irish border matter?
    (University College Dublin. Institute for British-Irish Studies, 2006) ;
    This paper examines how the two parts of Ireland were affected by the partition of the country in 1922. It examines the post-partition evolution of living standards north and south, and patterns of trade, migration, and road and rail traffic between the two since 1922. A separate section looks at the effects of living near the border on population trends. Bearing in mind the difficulty of establishing a relevant counterfactual— what would have happened in the absence of partition—we conclude that while it is possible to discern a “partition effect”, it is smaller and less significant than is widely perceived. The evidence we present is a salutary warning against great expectations about the possible economic gains from the dismantling the barriers erected between the two parts of Ireland after 1922.
      410
  • Publication
      109
  • Publication
    Credibility, interest rates and the ERM : the Irish experience, 1986-92
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 1993-01-06)
    As one of a set of policies designed to reduce inflation and interest rates to the levels prevailing in Germany the Irish pound has been stabilised in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System since 1986. This paper examines the effect of this policy on short-term interest rates in Ireland. Only limited evidence is found that the exchange rate policy contributed to the reduction in the German-Irish interest rate differential. Sterling interest rates and the level of the Irish pound/sterling exchange rate have continued to influence the level of Irish interest rates. This was bourne out by the impact of the turbulence of September 1992 on Irish money markets. It is suggested that the costs of rigidly pegging the Irish pound in the ERM may outweigh the benefits of this policy.
      606
  • Publication
      832
  • Publication
    The influence of macroeconomic conditions and institutional quality on national levels of life satisfaction
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2012-03)
    Answers to the Eurobarometer question on Life Satisfaction are used to explore the effects of macroeconomic performance and institutional quality on average levels of self-assessed well-being in the countries of the enlarged European Union between 2004 and 2011. It is found that variations in national levels of life satisfaction can largely be accounted by a small number of socio-economic indicators. Life satisfaction is lowest in poor, corrupt countries where income inequality is pronounced. The adverse effect of higher unemployment on life satisfaction is partially offset by the positive impact of lower inflation. However, even when these factors are allowed for, significant country-level differences persist.
      382
  • Publication
    Emigration : an economist's perspective
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 1988-08)
      212
  • Publication
    Mixed marriages in Ireland a century ago
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2014-03) ; ;
    This paper explores the characteristics associated with marriages between Roman Catholics and members of other religious denominations ('mixed marriages') in 1911 Ireland. Using the recently-digitized returns of the 1911 census of population, we find that such marriages were relatively rare, varying from two to three percent of all mar- riages in Dublin to less than half a percent in Connacht. However, at the turn of the century in the Dublin area mixed marriages represented 12 per cent or more of mar- riages where at least one of the partners was a non-Catholic. When mixed marriages did occur the Catholic partner was more likely to be the wife. Using regression analysis we examine the individual characteristics of the partners to these marriages and find a number of characteristics significantly associated with them. However, the strength and even the direction of predictors like socioeconomic status vary substantially across regions, most notably between Ulster and the rest of Ireland. In Ulster mixed marriages tended to occur between partners in lower socioeconomic positions, whereas in the rest of Ireland the partners tended to be from higher social strata. Since the religion of the children born to mixed marriages was a contentious issue, we match our sample of partners of mixed religions to their children and find that the religion of the children was strongly influenced by the mothers religion. Couples of mixed religions had lower fertility than the general population, even when the influence of socioeconomic class and other potentially confounding variables is allowed for. This, as well as the evi- dence of higher infant-child mortality among families of mixed marriages, potentially indicates a lack of family and social support due to the general public disapproval of couples who married across the religious divide.
      708