This paper analyses the role of interest rate expectations in determining a household’s selection of mortgage product. We use a bespoke survey of 1,484 mortgage holders conducted by the Central Bank of Ireland to investigate the choice between safe fixed rate and risky adjustable rate...

This paper has three objectives. First, a review of the developing body of work on the economics of immigration in Ireland is provided. Second, the analysis undertaken by Barrett and McCarthy (forthcoming) of earnings of immigrants in Ireland is updated. Third, the earnings of immigrant women...

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the papers within the economics literature that have examined the questions of immigrant welfare use and the responsiveness of immigrants to the incentives created by welfare systems. While our focus is largely on papers looking at the...

Ireland's exceptional economic growth in recent years has led to an influx of immigrants. Given the favourable economic climate into which these immigrants are arriving, it is interesting to ask how their earnings and welfare dependence compare with the native population. To the extent that...

Under-refinancing limits the transmission of accommodative monetary policy to the household sector and costs mortgage holders in many countries a significant fraction of income annually. We test whether targeted communication can reduce the attention frictions that inhibit transmission by...