A model that allows for inter vivos intergenerational transfers in a booming housing market is developed. The model is used to explain how transfers effect the first-time homebuyer’s consumption and housing decisions by alleviating borrowing constraints. The general implications of the model...

The purpose of this paper is twofold. We first produce a labour market profile of non- Irish immigrants who arrived in Ireland in the ten years to 2003. We then go on to use the labour market profile in estimating the impact of immigration (non-Irish) on the Irish labour market. Immigrants are...

We explore the consequences of rising house prices for the openness of the Irish labour market. Since many immigrants are in the household formation age group, and tend to be highly skilled, we argue that the boom in house prices, by reducing the attractiveness of Ireland for potential...

This paper reviews the international literature on house price indices, looking at the basic methodologies employed, the variables chosen for the indices and the functional forms used. Ideas are sought for future improvements to an Irish index and tentative assessments are made of how Irish...

Recent data on the accumulation patterns of public debt across OECD countries suggests a synthesis is possible between the theoretical and empirical approaches to public debt and also between the traditional and more recent political economy explanations of public debt accumulation. The...