Evaluating the Impact of a National Minimum Wage: Evidence from a New Survey of Firms

In April 2000 the Irish government introduced a national minimum wage of £4.40 an hour. This paper uses data from a specially designed panel survey of firms to estimate the labour market effects of this change. Initial results show that employment growth among firms with low wage workers prior to the legislation was not significantly different to that for firms not affected by the legislation. However, this measure of the minimum wage bite is likely to overestimate the number of firms affected by the legislation. When we use a more refined measure of the minimum wage bite, which takes account of general wage growth in the economy we find the minimum wage may have had a statistically significantly negative effect on employment for the small number of firms most severely affected by the legislation.

Robinson v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police

In the United Kingdom, as in some other parts of the Commonwealth, the courts have long embarked on a search for a general formula which can be applied to determine whether a duty of care arises in any given negligence case. In 2018, the United Kingdom Supreme Court delivered its judgment in Robinson v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, in which a plurality strikingly rejected as misconceived attempts to identify such a general test. Duty cases, the Supreme Court held, are to be decided by reference to precedent where applicable, or (where no such precedent applies) by analogy with the existing authorities. This approach curtails the role of policy in the duty of care enquiry. In this article, the decision in Robinson is put in context and its significance explained. It is argued that the approach to the duty question adopted in Robinson should be welcomed. Not only is that approach the best of the alternatives available, but it is the only one that is consistent with the methodology of the common law and the rule of law

Female Labour supply and Income Inequality in Ireland

Over the last 10-15 years female labour force participation rates have increased substantially in Ireland. At the same time there has been a large increase in wage inequality but a decline in total household income inequality. In this paper we examine the relationship between the trends in female labour force participation, wage inequality and household income inequality in order to develop a better understanding of the processes governing inequality in Ireland. Our findings suggest that despite an increased correlation in the earnings of spouses the recent increases in female labour force participation and female wage rates account for between 20% and 50% of the recent fall in income inequality in Ireland. The remainder of the reduction is attributed to factors not directly related to wives' earnings.female labour supply; family income inequality

Evaluating the Impact of the National Minimum Wage: Evidence from a New Survey of Firms in Ireland.

In April 2000 the Irish government introduced a national minimum wage of £4.40 an hour. We use data from a specially designed survey of firms to estimate the employment effects of this change. Employment growth among firms with low-wage workers prior to the legislation was no different to that of firms not affected by the legislation. A more refined measure of the minimum wage, however, suggests that the legislation may have had a negative effect on employment for the small number of firms most severely affected by the legislation. However the size of these effects are still relatively modest

Female Labour Supply and Income Inequality in Ireland

Over the last 10-15 years female labour force participation rates have increased substantially in Ireland. At the same time there has been a large increase in wage inequality but a decline in total household income inequality. In this paper we examine the relationship between the trends in female labour force participation, wage inequality and household income inequality in order to develop a better understanding of the processes governing inequality in Ireland. Our findings suggest that despite an increased correlation in the earnings of spouses the recent increases in female labour force participation and female wage rates account for between 20% and 50% of the recent fall in income inequality in Ireland. The remainder of the reduction is attributed to factors not directly related to wives' earnings

Female Labour Supply and Income Inequality in Ireland

Over the last 10-15 years female labour force participation rates have increased substantially in Ireland. At the same time there has been a large increase in wage inequality but a decline in total household income inequality. In this paper we examine the relationship between the trends in female labour force participation, wage inequality and household income inequality in order to develop a better understanding of the processes governing inequality in Ireland. Our findings suggest that despite an increased correlation in the earnings of spouses the recent increases in female labour force participation and female wage rates account for between 20% and 50% of the recent fall in income inequality in Ireland. The remainder of the reduction is attributed to factors not directly related to wives' earnings

The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Irish Firms. ESRI Policy Series No. 44. May 2002

The National Minimum Wage was introduced in Ireland in April 2000. A survey of firms was carried out by the The Economic and Social Research Institute prior to its introduction, as part of a prospective analysis of the likely impact of the minimum wage. The present study is based on a further survey carried out in late 2000/early 2001, commissioned by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This survey interviewed both a substantial proportion of the firms in the earlier sample - for whom the situation "before and after" the minimum wage can be directly compared - and significant numbers of other firms. Here the results from these surveys are used to assess the impact of the minimum wage on employment, wage levels and other aspects of work organisation among Irish firms. Broader issues relating to the impact on the earnings distribution and on household incomes, requiring complementary analysis of individual and household­ level data rather than information from firms, are not addressed

Specifics of teaching electrical engineering course to international students

To have the “right” competence for a specific work task has become very important in a world of high competition, continuous developments and fast changes. Without the necessary skills to handle a task the future for an enterprise can easy become uncertain. Since time is limited the process of acquiring relevant competence has to be efficient. There are many ways to build up knowledge in a new field. A common practice is to let the employees take courses in house or outside the company. The knowledge providers for these activities are typically learning institutes, educational companies or universities. The WBL-IE project presents a model that focuses on SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and work based learning, where tailor made learning activities play an important role. This model tries to pin- point the key educational areas of interest for the actual company. The start point is to find out the specific needs that the enterprise has and what complimentary skills and competences are necessary to strengthen, broaden and make better use of the knowledge that already exist within the company. The WBL-IE project target SME with less than 250 employees. Characteristic for these companies are that they have slimmed organisations and often no real focus on Continuous Engineering Education (CEE). Education activities are therefore closely linked to short term requirements and actions. The SME´s are acting on a high competitive market and often need to make very prompt decisions based on strategic choices. The WBL-IE work is based on earlier research in education modes in industrial engineering. One of the most interesting findings came from an interview campaign regarding continuous education in SMEs active in industrial engineering. Very few of the companies if any had a plan for their competence development to present. But at a deeper analysis you could find an important number of learning activities going on. There was in fact an unwritten competence development plan.  This means that SMEs already have a competence development process going on. With this observation in mind a new approach to the implementation of education activities in SMEs was developed, the WBL-IE concept.  The WBL-IE concept starts with an interview session with a number of stakeholders in the company organization. The interviews are made after a guide especially developed by WBL-IE with the goal the give a realistic and complete picture of the many different learning processes going on in the organization. The role of WBL-IE is both to introduce the concept and implement and maintain it. The role means to have resources for analysing, proposing and supporting the competence development in SMEs active in industrial engineering. One of the most important factors in the implementation is the facilitator. The facilitator is a person with the ability to enhance the different learning processes in the company. The concept of WBL-IE model involves creating a learning environment that promotes focused learning in different settings. To meet the stakeholder on her/his home arena gives a deeper understanding of the companies’ situation and in which direction they are aiming at. A thorough understanding of the current state will help the stakeholder and the facilitator to pin point key issues to address and together develop a plan that will be beneficial for the company. A program for pilot tests is running and findings/results will be reported.QC 20160525</p

Early-onset and classical forms of type 2 diabetes show impaired expression of genes involved in muscle branched-chain amino acids metabolism

Abstract The molecular mechanisms responsible for the pathophysiological traits of type 2 diabetes are incompletely understood. Here we have performed transcriptomic analysis in skeletal muscle, and plasma metabolomics from subjects with classical and early-onset forms of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Focused studies were also performed in tissues from ob/ob and db/db mice. We document that T2D, both early and late onset, are characterized by reduced muscle expression of genes involved in branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) metabolism. Weighted Co-expression Networks Analysis provided support to idea that the BCAA genes are relevant in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, and that mitochondrial BCAA management is impaired in skeletal muscle from T2D patients. In diabetic mice model we detected alterations in skeletal muscle proteins involved in BCAA metabolism but not in obese mice. Metabolomic analysis revealed increased levels of branched-chain keto acids (BCKA), and BCAA in plasma of T2D patients, which may result from the disruption of muscle BCAA management. Our data support the view that inhibition of genes involved in BCAA handling in skeletal muscle takes place as part of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, and this occurs both in early-onset and in classical type 2 diabetes

Phenotypic Responses to a Lifestyle Intervention Do Not Account for Inter-Individual Variability in Glucose Tolerance for Individuals at High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Lifestyle interventions have been shown to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes among high risk adults. A better understanding of the variability in physiological responses would support the matching of individuals with the best type of intervention in future prevention programmes, in order to optimize risk reduction. The purpose of this study was to determine if phenotypic characteristics at baseline or following a 12 weeks lifestyle intervention could explain the inter-individual variability in change in glucose tolerance in individuals with high risk for type 2 diabetes.Methods: In total, 285 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT, FINDRISC score &gt; 12), impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were recruited for a 12 weeks lifestyle intervention. Glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, anthropometric characteristics and aerobic fitness were measured. Variability of responses was examined by grouping participants by baseline glycemic status, by cluster analysis based on the change in glucose tolerance and by Principal Component Analysis (PCA).Results: In agreement with other studies, the mean response to the 12 weeks intervention was positive for the majority of parameters. Overall, 89% improved BMI, 80% waist circumference, and 81% body fat while only 64% improved fasting plasma glucose and 60% 2 h glucose. The impact of the intervention by glycaemic group did not show any phenotypic differences in response between NGT, IFG, and IGT. A hierarchical cluster analysis of change in glucose tolerance identified four sub-groups of “responders” (high and moderate) and “non-responders” (no response or deteriorated) but there were few differences in baseline clincal and physiological parameters or in response to the intervention to explain the overall variance. A further PCA analysis of 19 clinical and physiological univariables could explain less than half (48%) of total variability.Conclusion: We found that phenotypic characteristics from standard clinical and physiological parameters were not sufficient to account for the inter-individual variability in glucose tolerance following a 12 weeks lifestyle intervention in inidivuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes. Further work is required to identify biomarkers that complement phenotypic traits and better predict the response to glucose tolerance