The Spatial Distribution of Labour Force Participation and Market Earnings at the Sub-National Level in Ireland

The main aim of this paper is to provide a spatial modelling framework for labour force participation and income estimation. The development of a household income distribution for Ireland had previously been hampered by the lack of disaggregated data on individual earnings. Spatial microsimulation through a process of calibration provides a method which allows one to recreate the spatial distribution LFP and household market income at the small area level. Further analysis examines the relationship between LFP, occupational type and market income at the small area level in Co. Galway Ireland.Household Market Income Distribution, Employment, Spatial Microsimulation, Calibration, Mapping

Gender Differences in the Association between Common Mental Disorders and Regional Deprivation in Ireland

Copyright © 2016 Taylor & Francis This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Professional Geographer on 24 July 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00330124.2015.1054020This article aims to add a gender and place perspective to our understanding of depression and anxiety (common mental disorders [CMDs]) through the use of multilevel models. To date, regional variations in the prevalence of CMDs in Ireland have not been explained adequately. Using data from the 2007 Quarterly National Household Survey special module on health and health service utilization, this article examines whether regional differences in CMDs persist after accounting for both individual and regional characteristics. The null model indicated that 2 percent of the variance in CMDs occurred at the regional level. Including contextual interaction variables, the level of variance at the regional level increased to 3.3 percent. Of specific interest to this article was the association between place-based deprivation and gender on CMDs at the regional level. This article found that although regional deprivation alone did not have a significant impact on CMDs, the interaction between female and regional relative deprivation was significant. Specifically, this means that women living in more deprived regions tend to have a greater number of CMDs

Using the EU-SILC to model the impact of the economic crisis on inequality

peer-reviewedIn this paper we attempted to chart the impact of the early part of Ireland’s economic crisis from 2008–2009 on the distribution of income. In order to decompose the impact of changes in different income components, we utilised a microsimulation methodology and the EU-SILC User Database. This simulation based methodology involved the disaggregation of the 6 main benefit variables in the EU-SILC into 17 variables for our tax-benefit model. Validating, our results were positive, giving us confidence in our methodology. We utilised the framework to model changes in the level of income inequality from the period just before the crisis in 2004 to the depth of the worst year of the crisis in 2009. In terms of the impact of the economic crisis, we found that income inequality fell in the early part of the crisis modelled in this paper. Much of this change was due to rising inequality of market incomes, (even when discounting unemployment). This was due to the differential effect of the downturn on different sectors where some sectors such as the construction and public sectors were significantly hit, while the international traded sectors have been relatively immune from the downturn and have seen continued growth. The impact of the tax-benefit system has been to mitigate this upward pressure, with a gradual rise in the redistributive effect of the tax-benefit system driven by an increase in demand on the benefits side and increased progressivity on the tax side. Jel codes H22, H55, C1

Building a Static Farm Level Spatial Microsimulation Model: Statistically Matching the Irish National Farm Survey to the Irish Census of Agriculture

This paper looks at the statistical matching technique used to match the Irish Census of Agriculture to the Irish National Farm Survey (NFS) to produce a farm level static spatial microsimulation model of Irish agriculture. The match produces a spatially disaggregated population microdata set of farm households for all of Ireland. Using statistical matching techniques, economists can now create more attribute rich datasets by matching across the common variables in two or more datasets. Static spatial microsimulation then uses these synthetic datasets to analyse the relationships among regions and localities and to project the spatial implications of economic development and policy changes in rural areas. The Irish agriculture microsimulation model uses one of many combinational optimatisation techniques - simulated annealing - to match the Census of Agriculture and the NFS. The static model uses this matched NFS and Census information to produce small area (District Electric Divisions (DED)) population microdata estimates for a particular year. Using the matched NFS/Census microdata, this paper will then analysis the regional farm income distribution for Ireland.

Aligning Ocean Plastic Pollution and Human Health a Co-benefits Approach

. The environmental literature has begun to consider the impact of environmental problems on human health. This realization serves both as a means to provide scientific evidence to consider the environment and public health jointly. This approach also increases recognition of the environment where stakeholders have not understood the links between environmental and human health. The oceans and seas play an important role in human health, through the provision and quality of the air that we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, while offering economic and recreational opportunities which enhance public health. However, the links between human health and ocean plastic pollution are unclear and research in this area is in its infancy. This paper argues that aligning human health and the impacts of ocean plastic pollution, focusing on the co-benefits of any planned intervention is important when figuring the costs associated with mitigation measures. Doing so will also raise awareness of the broader impacts of plastics in the ocean and seas. Within this context, this paper focuses on the need for economists and policymakers to look past the direct economic costs and benefits and focus on co-benefits of ocean plastic mitigation, particularly the impacts to human health

Measuring relatedness in a multisectoral cluster: an input–output approach

Copyright © 2016 Taylor & Francis This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Planning Studies on 10 January 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09654313.2015.1127898Studies in evolutionary economic geography have found that knowledge spillovers, crucial for the development and maintenance of clusters, tend to flow between sectors that are related via similar inputs and/or outputs. Thus, there is a growing body of literature stating that industrial variety within clusters is beneficial for economic growth, whereby local industrial diversity sparks creativity, new ideas and innovations. Within this context, the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) is a diverse, multisectoral cluster. Using an Input–Output table this paper examines the intra-cluster linkages, as well as the relatedness in terms of inputs and outputs across the four IMERC pillars: Marine Energy; Shipping, Logistics and Transport; Maritime Safety and Security; and Yachting Products and Services. This analysis found that although IMERC has weak intra-cluster linkages, the four pillars share a high number of related inputs and outputs. Based on this analysis, IMERC has the potential to develop into a strong maritime cluster

The Spatial Distribution of Labour Force Participation and Market Earnings at the Sub-National Level in Ireland

The main aim of this paper is to provide a spatial modelling framework for labour force participation and income estimation. The development of a household income distribution for Ireland had previously been hampered by the lack of disaggregated data on individual earnings. Spatial microsimulation through a process of calibration provides a method which allows one to recreate the spatial distribution LFP and household market income at the small area level. Further analysis examines the relationship between LFP, occupational type and market income at the small area level in Co. Galway Ireland