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Commuting across the Irish border

Author

Listed:
  • Ahrens, Achim
  • FitzGerald, John
  • Lyons, Seán

Abstract

The border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is often characterised as ‘invisible’. Using data drawn from censuses in both jurisdictions, we show a substantial discontinuity in commuting behaviour at the Irish border. Residents on both sides of the border have a low propensity to work on the other side. Local areas in Northern Ireland with larger Catholic populations are more prone to commuting from North to South, hinting at a possible role for socio-cultural factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahrens, Achim & FitzGerald, John & Lyons, Seán, 2020. "Commuting across the Irish border," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:190:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520300677
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109060
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andreas Beerli & Jan Ruffner & Michael Siegenthaler & Giovanni Peri, 2021. "The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(3), pages 976-1012, March.
    2. Damiaan Persyn & Wouter Torfs, 2016. "A gravity equation for commuting with an application to estimating regional border effects in Belgium," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 155-175.
    3. Thomas Matha & Ladislav Wintr, 2009. "Commuting flows across bordering regions: a note," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(7), pages 735-738.
    4. Parenti, Angela & Tealdi, Cristina, 2019. "Does the Implementation of the Schengen Agreement Boost Cross-Border Commuting? Evidence from Switzerland," IZA Discussion Papers 12754, IZA Network @ LISER.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Poulos & Andrea Albanese & Andrea Mercatanti & Fan Li, 2021. "Retrospective causal inference via matrix completion, with an evaluation of the effect of European integration on cross-border employment," LISER Working Paper Series 2021-07, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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