GOLF IN IRELAND: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 63 MAY 2017

This report, commissioned by the Confederation of Golf in Ireland, provides evidence relating to the level of participation in golf in Ireland and the factors that underpin it. Four data sources are used – three from the Republic of Ireland and one from Northern Ireland. In addition, the report reviews evidence for the positive contribution made by golf to physical activity, health and wellbeing. The analysis assesses patterns of participation in golf over time and by social group, as well as exploring people’s motivations and patterns of playing. The analysis examines both active participation in golf, i.e. physically playing the game, and social participation in the form of club membership and attendance at events. The primary purpose is to provide helpful evidence for the various organisations involved in managing and administering golf in Ireland. Below we summarise some of the key findings and policy implications. Additional findings, details and discussion of policy implications are to be found in the body of the report

RUGBY IN IRELAND: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION. RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 97 November 2019

This report, commissioned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), provides evidence relating to the level of participation in rugby in Ireland and the factors that underpin it. It exploits five data sources – four from the Republic of Ireland and one from Northern Ireland. The analysis investigates patterns of participation in rugby among adults and children, over time and by social group. It explores people’s motivations for active participation and the extent of physical activity involved. In addition to active participation, i.e. physically playing rugby, patterns of social participation in the form of volunteering, club membership and attendance at events are analysed

Measuring International Inequality Aversion. WP254. September 2008

I measure the rate of aversion to inequality in consumption as expressed in the development aid given by rich countries to poor ones between 1965 and 2005. Over time, OECD countries have become less concerned about international inequity. Even for a fairly leaky bucket, the consumption rate of inequity aversion is less than the rate of risk aversion, which implies that the pure rate of inequity aversion is negative. That is, rich countries would prefer to see greater inequality between rich and poor countries

Using a Census to Assess the Reliability of a National Household Survey for Migration Research: The Case of Ireland

Much research has been conducted on immigration into Ireland in recent years using data from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), the official source for labour market data in Ireland. As it is known that the QNHS undercounts immigrants in Ireland, a concern exists over whether the profile of immigrants being provided is accurate. For example, QNHS-based research has shown that immigrants in Ireland are a highly educated group. However, if it is the case that those who are missed by the QNHS are more heavily drawn from among low-skilled immigrants, then the profile being reported and used in other research may be inaccurate. In this paper, we use the Irish Census of 2006 to assess the reliability of the profile of immigrants provided by the QNHS by comparing the characteristics of immigrants in both datasets. In general, we find that the QNHS does indeed provide a reliable picture and that earlier findings on the education levels of immigrants in Ireland hold.migration research, Ireland, census, household survey

The Impact of Ireland's Recession on the Labour Market Outcomes of its Immigrants

In the mid 2000s Ireland experienced a large inflow of immigrants, partly in response to strong economic growth but also in response to its decision to allow full access to its labour market when EU expansion occurred in May 2004. Between 2004 and 2007, the proportion of non-nationals living in Ireland almost doubled, increasing from 7.7 to 13.1 percent. Between 2008 and 2009, Ireland experienced one of the most acute downturns in economic activity in the industrialised world, with a cumulative fall in Gross National Product of close to 14 percent. In this paper, we assess how this downturn has impacted upon the employment outcomes of non-nationals relative to natives. We find huge job losses among immigrants, with an annual rate of job loss of close to 20 percent in 2009, compared to 7 percent for natives. A higher rate of job loss for immigrants is found to remain when we control for factors such as age and education. We also show how an outflow of non-nationals is occurring. The findings have many implications. In particular, the results point to economic vulnerability for immigrants. However, they also point to a potential macroeconomic benefit to Ireland in terms of a flexible labour supply adjustment.recession, Ireland, immigration

SAFEGUARDING AMATEUR ATHLETES AN EXAMINATION OF PLAYER WELFARE AMONG SENIOR INTER-COUNTY GAELIC PLAYERS. RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 99 December 2019

Following the publication of research into the commitments required of male Gaelic players to play senior inter-county, and knock-on effects of inter-county commitment (Kelly et al., 2018), the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic Players Association (GPA) established a working group to make an in-depth analysis of the report’s findings. One of the decisions taken by the working group was that further research was required to examine a range of issues that emerged from the original study. These included in particular: (i) the education and (ii) the professional career experiences of senior inter-county players, (iii) their engagement in risky behaviours (e.g. alcohol consumption), (iv) supplement usage, (v) players’ views on both provided and required supports, and (vi) what they would change about their experience of playing inter-county and the inter-county set-up

Estimating the Impact of Immigration on Wages in Ireland

We estimate the impact of immigration on the wages of natives in Ireland applying the technique proposed by Borjas (2003). Under this method, the labour market is divided into a number of skill cells, where the cells are defined by groups with similar levels of experience and education (or experience and occupation). Regression analysis is then employed to assess whether the average wages of natives across skill cells is affected by the share of immigrants across cells. When the cells are based on education/experience, our results suggest a negative relationship between native wages and immigrant shares. However, the opposite appears to hold when the cells are based on occupation/experience. These contradictory findings suggest that care should be exercised when applying this method as inaccurate impressions of the impact of immigration on wages may arise.wages, immigration, Ireland

Estimating the Impact of Immigration on the Wages in Ireland

We estimate the impact of immigration on the wages of natives in Ireland applying the technique proposed by Borjas (2003). Under this method, the labour market is divided into a number of skill cells, where the cells are defined by groups with similar ages and levels of education (or age and occupation). Regression analysis is then employed to assess whether the average wages of natives across skill cells is affected by the share of immigrants across cells. When the cells are based on education/age, our results suggest a negative relationship between native wages and immigrant shares. However, the opposite appears to hold when the cells are based on occupation/age. These contradictory findings suggest that care should be exercised when applying this method as inaccurate impressions of the impact of immigration on wages may arise.

The Impact of the Recession on the Structure and Labour Market Success of Young NEET Individuals in Ireland. ESRI WP465. September 2013

The labour market consequences of the severe fall in economic activity that took place in Ireland after the recent global recession were quite stark, especially for young people. One particularly disquieting development has been the rise in the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), which increased from 11.8 per cent in 2006 to 24 per cent in 2011 (Eurostat, 2013). Very little is known about NEET individuals in Ireland, either in terms of their profile or their labour market transitions, i.e., the extent to which youth NEETs have transitioned into employment. Given this information gap, and particularly its importance for the design of effective activation measures to assist young NEETs, this paper uses newly available longitudinal data from the Quarterly National Household Survey to examine the extent to which transitions to employment among NEETs and prime-aged unemployed changed over the recent recession in Ireland. The paper found that the rate of transition to employment fell dramatically for both groups between 2006 and 2011. The results from the analysis also revealed that the drop in the transition rates of NEET and prime-aged unemployed individuals’ was not due to changes in the underlying sub-group population structures but to changes in external factors that have had an impact on individuals possessing certain characteristics during the recession. From a policy perspective, the results would seem to support a greater emphasis on higher levels of human capital (i.e., third-level qualifications) for young NEETs, and the redesign of vocational-type qualifications (i.e., Post Leaving Cert level courses) to increase their relevance to those areas of the labour market where jobs are emerging

Participation in School Sport and Post-School Pathways. ESRI Research Bulletin 2015/2/4

Are students who participate in sport at school more likely to go on to college? Conversely, are students who drop out from school sport less likely to continue formal education after the Leaving Certificate? This paper used data from the 2007 School Leavers’ Survey to address these questions