Over the last 10-15 years female labour force participation rates have increased substantially in Ireland. At the same time there has been a large increase in wage inequality but a decline in total household income inequality. In this paper we examine the relationship between the trends in...

Rapid economic growth is often expected to lead to increased returns to education and skills and thus to rising wage inequality. Ireland offers a valuable case study, with distinctive wage-setting institutions and exceptional rates of growth in output, employment and incomes in the Celtic Tiger...

In Ireland, approximately 30% of the population receive free GP services ('medical card patients') while the remainder ('private patients') must pay for each visit. In 1989, the manner in which GPs were reimbursed by the State for their medical card patients was changed from fee-for-service to...

The link between income and subjective satisfaction with one's financial situation is explored in this paper using a panel analysis of 4,000 individuals tracked through the course of the 'Celtic Tiger' boom period, 1994-2001. The impact of the level of individual and household income, the...