Using micro data from the Quarterly National Household Survey we look at trends in Irish union membership from 2001-2006. There was a steep decline in union density. Decomposition analysis suggests that most of the decline is associated with a decline in the underlying probability of becoming a...

We examine the relationship between contracting out and the wage elasticity of labor demand in outsourcing plants. A simple theoretical model suggests that firms engaged in contracting out have lower wage elasticities. Estimating plant level dynamic labor demand equations for Irish manufacturing...

This paper analyses and compares the dynamics of agglomeration in Portuguese and Irish manufacturing industries between 1985 and 1998 implementing Dumais, Ellison and Glaeser (2002) methodology. Using comparable and exhaustive micro-level data sets, we find that s industries tend to be subject...

We show in a monopsony model that a minimum wage may raise hours which are already too high but has ambiguous effects on the number of employees and utility. Employment subsidies, in contrast, unambiguously improve worker utility and bring the market equilibrium closer to the efficient outcome.

Using plant-level data for the Irish manufacturing sector over the period 1983-98, we study the coagglomeration of domestic plants and foreign multinationals in Ireland. To this end we make use of the index developed by Ellison and Glaeser (1997) and find coagglomeration to be important for a...

We investigate the role that climatic change has played in the pattern of urbanization in sub- Saharan African countries compared to the rest of the developing world. To this end we assemble a cross-country panel data set that allows us to estimate the determinants of urbanization. The results...

While there have been some references in the literature to the potential role of the general decline in rainfall in sub-Saharan African nations on their poor growth performance relative to other developing countries, this avenue remains empirically unexplored. In this paper we use a new...

We investigate and compare the spatial distribution of manufacturing activity and its determinants in Belguim, Ireland, and Portugal using comparable, exhaustive micro-level data sets.We find some similarities between Portugal and Belguim, but little for Ireland. Moreover, there is some evidence...

This paper analyses the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the development of local firms. We focus on two likely of FDI: a competition effect which deters entry of domestic firms and positive market externalities which foster the development of local industry. Using a simple...

We investigate in how far foreign multinationals have fostered local indigenous development in Ireland. Specifically, we examine whether foreign presence has induced indigenous net plant entry within the same regions and in bordering regions. To this end we employ an entry rate model on an...