In this paper we develop a coherent framework that integrates both traditional measures of beta-convergence and sigma-convergence within a study of cross-country income dynamics. To do this we exploit the close links that exist between studies of income convergence and studies analysing the...

The high growth rates experienced in Ireland over the last 10 years has resulted in a tightening of the labour market which is reflected in the number of unfilled vacancies reported by firms. At the same time wage inequality has increased leading to greater demands being placed on the government...

A common approach to dealing with missing data is to estimate the model on the common subset of data, by necessity throwing away potentially useful data. We derive a new probit type estimator for models with missing covariate data where the dependent variable is binary. For the benchmark case of...

In this paper we develop a coherent framework that integrates both traditional measures of b-convergence and s-convergence within a study of cross-country income dynamics. To do this we exploit the close links that exist between studies of income convergence and studies analysing the...

In this paper we consider the usefulness of alternative measures of convergence in an equality of opportunity framework. In particular we use established results from the public finance and mobility literature to show that a form of β-convergence is both a necessary and sufficient condition for...

A number of researchers and policy makers have recently argued that the most effective way of dealing with long-run disadvantage and the intergenerational transmission of poverty is through early childhood intervention and in particular policies aimed at supporting the family in early childhood...

In April 2000 the Irish government introduced a national minimum wage of IR£4.40 (&U20AC;5.58) an hour. We use data from a specifically designed survey of firms to estimate the employment effects of this change. Employment growth among firms with low-wage workers prior to the legislation was no...

In this paper, the authors analyze the effect of the Restart program in the United Kingdom. This program consists of an interview of the long-term unemployed to counsel them on effective job search. Failure to attend the interview carries the threat of the cessation of unemployment benefits. The...