Frances McGinnity

The Impact of Immigration

Migration has been important for Ireland since the nineteenth century. For most of that time, migratory flows have been outward but occasional bouts of return migration have also occurred. It is only since the exceptional economic growth of the past decade that we have seen large and sustained inflows and that non-Irish immigrants have come to outnumber returning Irish migrants. Our purpose in this chapter is to assess the significance of this new era of inward migration. People are now clamouring to get into Ireland rather than rushing to leave it and that in itself is a powerful indicator of how much more attractive a society Ireland now is compared to the past. However, if we look deeper, a number of questions arise about what new migration patterns mean and what their impact will be. These questions concern the economic and social impact of immigration as well as the challenge of integrating the new Irish. The chapter begins with a review of recent trends in migration, and tracks the change from a pattern of emigration to one of immigration. A notable feature of present immigration is that it comes primarily from within the EU and so is less racially, culturally and religiously heterogeneous than that experienced by other immigrant societies. We then turn to the economic impact of immigration on the economy, focusing in particular on the labour market. This is followed by a discussion of the social impact of immigration, focusing on public services as well as the attitudes of the indigenous population towards immigrants. We then examine new survey data on immigrants’ experiences of racism and discrimination in Ireland. The conclusion discusses the need for a coherent policy for integration of migrants into Irish society as an essential requirement for the successful management of immigration.

The Cost of Flexibility at the Margin. Comparing the Wage Penalty for Fixed-term Contracts in Germany and Spain using Quantile Regression

Germany and Spain are typically regarded as rigid economies, yet both have had different experiences of fixed-term jobs. Using quantile regression we find that in West Germany the earnings of permanent and fixed-term workers are most similar among high earners and most dissimilar among low earners. In Spain, the wage penalty shows little variation across the distribution of wages. This pattern was also found for different occupational groups, although there are clear differences in the absolute wage penalty across occupations. In conclusion we caution against generalizing findings from Spain to other rigid European labor markets.

Measuring discrimination facing ethnic minority job applicants: an Irish experiment:

The role of employer discrimination in labour market matching is often acknowledged but challenging to quantify. What part of the ‘ethnic penalty’ in the labour market is due to recruitment discrimination? This experiment, the first of its kind in Ireland, explicitly measured this by sending out nearly 500 equivalent CVs from Irish and minority candidates in response to advertised vacancies in the greater Dublin area. We find that candidates with Irish names are over twice as likely to be called to interview as are candidates with an African, Asian or German name. This discrimination rate is high by international standards, and does not vary between minority groups. We develop the discussion of the role of prejudice and stereotypes in discrimination in this article, arguing that our findings may be linked to the fact that Ireland is a ‘new immigration’ country, with no established minority groups and a cohesive national identity.

Paying the price for reconciling work and family life: Comparing the wage penalty for women's part-time work in Britain, Germany and the United States

Abstract A comparison of the institutional context of part-time employment in Britain, Germany and the United States forms the backdrop for this study of womens part-time work and wage penalties in each country. Results using panel data and fixed-effects wage estimates show three distinct “part-time regimes”. Germany has the lowest female labour force participation rates, and the smallest penalties for part-time employment. The United States and Britain each have steep penalties for part-time work, but part-time work is much more prevalent in Britain. We conclude that family policy, welfare state provision and labour market structure behave jointly to determine distinct models of work-family balance and the financial consequences associated with them.

Changing Returns to Education During a Boom? The Case of Ireland

Ireland experienced dramatic growth in the economy and employment in the second half of the 1990s. This paper examines the consequences of that boom for returns to education and wage inequality using data from the Living in Ireland Survey for the years 1994, 1997, and 2001. Rapid economic growth is often expected to lead to increased returns to education and thus to rising wage inequality. We find fairly stable returns to education and falling wage inequality for men throughout the period, partly due to strong demand for unskilled labour, which helped maintain low-skilled wages. For women the wage premium for a university degree fell between 1997 and 2001, as did wage inequality. We argue that for women, low-skilled wages may have been kept up by the introduction of the minimum wage in 2000, and high-skilled wages fell due to a rapid rise in the supply of highly qualified women.

Immigration and school composition in Ireland

In the last decade, Ireland has experienced a rapid increase in immigration on a scale previously unknown in the countrys history. Over this time, Ireland has been transformed to an increasingly heterogeneous country in terms of nationality, language, ethnicity and religious affiliation. These changes have also impacted on the composition of Irish schools. The article draws on data collected for a large-scale study of primary and second level school provision for immigrant students. The findings indicate the absence of the degree of school segregation found in many European countries, mainly due to the geographical dispersal of the immigrant population and the wide variety of national groups represented. However, the interaction between geographical location, parental choice of schools and school admissions criteria means that immigrant students are overrepresented in larger schools, schools located in urban areas and those with a socio-economically disadvantaged intake.

Cumulative disadvantage? Educational careers of migrant students in Irish secondary schools

Recent rapid immigration of a diverse group of migrant children into an almost exclusively White Irish school population makes Ireland an interesting case study for migrant education. This article explores key points in the careers of migrant secondary school students in Ireland from an equality perspective. The article draws on data gathered as a part of a large-scale study specifically designed to investigate provision for migrant children in Irish schools. The results of the study show that migrant students in Ireland face a number of educational barriers in terms of access to schools, placement in classes, year groups and types of secondary school programme. This disadvantage is likely to impact on their future life-chances in terms of progress to further education and their place in the labour market, as well as their general social positioning in the Irish society.

Under Pressure: The Impact of Recession on Employees in Ireland

Ireland is experiencing the worst recession since the foundation of the state, and the effects on the labour market have been dramatic. This article explores the impact of recession for those still in employment by examining work pressure, using two large, nationally representative workplace surveys from 2003 (boom) and 2009 (recession). We find a significant increase in work pressure between 2003 and 2009. Staff reductions and company reorganization are both associated with increased work pressure, as is current job insecurity. Other job changes, like large pay cuts, increases in responsibility and monitoring are also associated with increased work pressure. We argue that negative organizational and job changes in the previous two years play an important role in accounting for the rise in work pressure.

What Works, Who Works? The Employment and Earnings Effects of Active Labour Market Programmes among Young People in Ireland

The international literature on active labour market programmes has generated inconsistent and confusing, but generally pessimistic, conclusions regarding their impact on the employment prospects of participants. This paper argues that much of this confusion is due to a general lack of attention to qualitative differences between programmes. The paper develops a typology of active labour market programmes, differentiating between training and employment measures on the basis of their orientation to the labour market and argues that programmes with a strong orientation to the market are more likely to improve the job prospects of participants than those characterised by weak market linkages. That hypothesis is tested using the results of a survey of young participants in labour market programmes in Ireland. The analysis shows that programmes with strong linkages to the labour market both enhance the employment prospects of their participants and increase their earnings, even when we take account of relevant individual characteristics such as education and previous labour market experience.

Welfare for the Unemployed in Britain and Germany

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Comparing Labour Market Trends and the Composition of the Unemployed 3. Welfare for the Unemployed in Britain and Germany 4. Income Poverty Among the Unemployed 5. Comparing Durations of Unemployment 6. The Labour Force Participation of the Wives of Unemployed Men 7. Conclusions Appendix References Index