We analyse the effect of varying equivalization scales and income-sharing units (households, tax-units and benefit-units) on inequality and poverty statistics using Irish microdata. We find that benchmark equivalence scales result in substantial variation in the degree of income poverty...

This paper simulates the impact that Covid-19 related job losses will have on family incomes and the public finances. It finds that in the central 'medium' unemployment scenario of 600,000 job losses, around 400,000 families will see their disposable income fall by more than 20 per cent in the...

This paper examines the potential role for increasing social welfare rates, along with tax credits and bands, in line with price or wage inflation - a process known as indexation. Ireland currently has a default policy of no increases in line with inflation, with ad hoc changes instead announced...