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How did Immigrants Fare in the Irish Labour Market over the Great Recession?

Author

Listed:
  • Elish Kelly

    (The Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin
    Trinity College Dublin
    Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn)

  • Seamus McGuinness

    (The Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin
    Trinity College Dublin
    Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn)

  • Philip J. O’Connell

    (UCD Geary Institute, Dublin)

  • Alberto González Pandiella

    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris)

  • David Haugh

    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the Great Recession on labour market outcomes for Irish immigrants compared to natives and how this relationship evolved afterwards. We find that the employment chances of immigrants decreased significantly over the recession and, on average, this persisted during the recovery. We also find that their relative unemployment risk increased, while there was substantial variation in these patterns between immigrants. Immigrants from the United Kingdom fared particularly badly during the recession. Their unfavourable outcomes intensified in the recovery, particularly among non-naturalised UK immigrants. African immigrants showed the highest employment penalties and unemployment risks during the recession but in the recovery these negative outcomes were confined to naturalised African immigrants. The recovery trends appear to be related to composition effects, as many refugees with weak labour market attachment became naturalised citizens during the recession. This suggests that the difficulties some immigrants experience in the labour market would be underestimated without taking due account of naturalisation processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Elish Kelly & Seamus McGuinness & Philip J. O’Connell & Alberto González Pandiella & David Haugh, 2020. "How did Immigrants Fare in the Irish Labour Market over the Great Recession?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 51(3), pages 357-380.
    • Handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:51:y:2020:i:3:p:357-380
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Izquierdo, Mario & Lacuesta, Aitor & Vegas, Raquel, 2009. "Assimilation of immigrants in Spain: A longitudinal analysis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 669-678, December.
    2. Elish Kelly & Seamus McGuinness & Philip J O’connell & David Haugh & Alberto GonzÁlez Pandiella, 2014. "Transitions In and Out of Unemployment among Young People in the Irish Recession," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 56(4), pages 616-634, December.
    3. Alan Barrett & Adele Bergin & Elish Kelly & Seamus McGuinness, 2016. "Ireland’s Recession and the Immigrant-Native Earnings Gap," Springer Books, in: Martin Kahanec & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), Labor Migration, EU Enlargement, and the Great Recession, pages 103-122, Springer.
    4. McGinnity, Fran & Quinn, Emma & Kingston, Gillian & O'Connell, Philip J., 2014. "Annual Monitoring Report on Integration 2013," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT266, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Barrett, Alan & McGinnitty, Frances & Quinn, Emma (ed.), 2017. "Monitoring Report on Integration 2016," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT330, June.
    2. Cormac Ó Gráda & Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, 2022. "The Irish economy during the century after partition," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(2), pages 336-370, May.
    3. McGinnity, Frances & Enright, Shannen & Quinn, Emma & Maître, Bertrand & Privalko, Ivan & Darmody, Merike & Polakowski, Michal, 2020. "Monitoring report on integration 2020," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT403, June.
    4. Groarke, Sarah & Dunbar, Róisín, 2020. "Pathways to citizenship through naturalisation in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS116, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; labour market; Ireland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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