This paper examines patterns and factors underlying the international transmission of business cycles between Ireland and its trading partners over the period 1980-2007. We estimate a model of simultaneous equations using a panel of cross-country annual data where trade integration, sectoral...

It is widely believed that survey-based confidence indicators provide a reasonably accurate picture of economic conditions. This paper examines whether data from the business and consumer surveys conducted for the European Commission might be useful for short-term macroeconomic forecasting....

This Letter examines movements in the interest rates charged on variable rate mortgages. The results indicate that variable rates for all lenders closely followed changes in the ECB's policy rate, short-term wholesale rates and tracker rate mortgages until the end of 2008. Thereafter, the...

This paper introduces the new Trends in Business Credit and Deposits and Trends in Personal Credit and Deposits statistical series first published by the Central Bank of Ireland in June 2011.

Governments are increasingly concerned about the capacity of pensions systems to meet demands in the coming years. According to the OECD, one part of the policy response in many countries will be greater private provision on the part of individuals through occupational and other pension...

The economic crisis of 2008/9 was felt more acutely in Ireland relative to elsewhere and culminated in the international bailout in 2010. Given the economic collapse, Ireland provides an ideal case-study of the link between wealth collapses and movements in variables such as health and...

Research has shown that employment status, such as being unemployed or retired, can be related to well-being. In addition, the direction and size of these relationships can be influenced by the employment status of one's peer group. For example, it has been shown that the well-being of the...

A growing literature within economics has sought to examine the impacts of emigration on sending countries. Some of the studies have looked within families and have investigated how emigration affects those family members who are left behind. In this paper, we explore whether older parents of...