IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eso/journl/v49y2018i3p259-286.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: The Erosion of Social Class Advantage

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher T. Whelan

    (University College Dublin)

  • Brian Nolan

    (University of Oxford)

  • Bertrand Maître

    (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin)

Abstract

In this paper we address the issue of whether the Great Recession in Ireland led to increased social class polarisation in the experience of economic stress. Rather than observing polarisation, we find evidence for ‘middle class squeeze’ involving the self-employed and a significant erosion of the advantages associated with the higher social classes. These outcomes derived primarily from a weakening of the degree of association between social class and income class and a reduction of the buffering effect of social class within the lower income classes. By 2012 social class had no impact on economic stress net of income class.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maître, 2018. "Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: The Erosion of Social Class Advantage," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 259-286.
    • Handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:49:y:2018:i:3:p:259-286
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.esr.ie/article/view/978/192
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gianni Betti & Neil Dourmashkin & Mariacristina Rossi & Ya Ping Yin, 2007. "Consumer over‐indebtedness in the EU: measurement and characteristics," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(2), pages 136-156, May.
    2. Gintare Mazeikaite & Cathal O’Donoghue & Denisa M. Sologon, 2019. "The Great Recession, financial strain and self-assessed health in Ireland," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(4), pages 579-596, June.
    3. S M Finlay, 2006. "Predictive models of expenditure and over-indebtedness for assessing the affordability of new consumer credit applications," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(6), pages 655-669, June.
    4. Jenkins, Stephen P., 2011. "Changing Fortunes: Income Mobility and Poverty Dynamics in Britain," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199226436.
    5. Anthony B. Atkinson & Salvatore Morelli, 2011. "Economic crises and Inequality," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2011-06, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    6. Savage, Micheal & Callan, Tim & Nolan, Brian & Colgan, Brian, 2015. "The Great Recession, Austerity and Inequality: Evidence from Ireland," Papers WP499, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    7. Dorothy Watson & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maitre & James Williams, 2016. "Socio-Economic Variation in the Impact of the Irish Recession on the Experience of Economic Stress among Families," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 47(4), pages 477-498.
    8. Tim Callan & Brian Nolan & Claire Keane & Michael Savage & John Walsh, 2014. "Crisis, response and distributional impact: the case of Ireland," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-17, December.
    9. Christopher Whelan & Helen Russell & Bertrand Maître, 2016. "Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: Polarization, Individualization or ‘Middle Class Squeeze’?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 503-526, March.
    10. Niamh Hardiman & Spyros Blavoukos & Sebastian Dellepiane-Avellaneda & George Pagoulatos, 2016. "Austerity in the European periphery: the Irish experience," Working Papers 201604, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    11. Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maitre, 2017. "Polarization or “Squeezed Middle” in the Great Recession?: A Comparative European Analysis of the Distribution of Economic Stress," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 163-184, August.
    12. Nolan, Brian & Salverda, Wiemer & Checchi, Daniele & Marx, Ive & McKnight, Abigail & Toth, Istvan Gy (ed.), 2016. "Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries: Thirty Countries' Experiences," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198784739.
    13. Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maître, 2018. "Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: The Erosion of Social Class Advantage," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 259-286.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dorothy Watson & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maitre & James Williams, 2016. "Socio-Economic Variation in the Impact of the Irish Recession on the Experience of Economic Stress among Families," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 47(4), pages 477-498.
    2. Gintare Mazeikaite & Cathal O’Donoghue & Denisa M. Sologon, 2019. "The Great Recession, financial strain and self-assessed health in Ireland," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(4), pages 579-596, June.
    3. Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maître, 2018. "Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: The Erosion of Social Class Advantage," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 259-286.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maitre, 2017. "Polarization or “Squeezed Middle” in the Great Recession?: A Comparative European Analysis of the Distribution of Economic Stress," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 163-184, August.
    2. Christopher T. Whelan & Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maítre, 2016. "The Great Recession and the Changing Distribution of Economic Stress across Income Classes and the Life Course in Ireland: A Comparative Perspective," Working Papers 201603, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    3. Dorothy Watson & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maître & Helen Russell, 2018. "Social Class and Conversion Capacity: Deprivation Trends in the Great Recession in Ireland," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 549-570, November.
    4. Dorothy Watson & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maitre & James Williams, 2016. "Socio-Economic Variation in the Impact of the Irish Recession on the Experience of Economic Stress among Families," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 47(4), pages 477-498.
    5. Watson, Dorothy & Maître, Bertrand & Grotti, Raffaele & Whelan, Christopher T., 2018. "Poverty Dynamics of Social Risk Groups in the EU: an analysis of the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, 2005 to 2014," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT345, June.
    6. Dorothy Watson & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maître & James Williams, 2017. "Non-Monetary Indicators and Multiple Dimensions: The ESRI Approach to Poverty Measurement," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 48(4), pages 369-392.
    7. Michael Savage, 2016. "Poorest Made Poorer? Decomposing income losses at the bottom of the income distribution during the Great Recession," Papers WP528, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    8. Gintare Mazeikaite & Cathal O’Donoghue & Denisa M. Sologon, 2019. "The Great Recession, financial strain and self-assessed health in Ireland," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(4), pages 579-596, June.
    9. Cesar Leandro, Julio & Botelho, Delane, 2022. "Consumer over-indebtedness: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 535-551.
    10. Christopher Whelan & Helen Russell & Bertrand Maître, 2016. "Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: Polarization, Individualization or ‘Middle Class Squeeze’?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 503-526, March.
    11. Anastasia PANORI & Yannis PSYCHARIS, 2018. "The impact of the economic crisis on poverty and welfare in Athens," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 48, pages 23-40.
    12. Watson, Dorothy & Maitre, Bertrand & Whelan, Christopher T. & Russell, Helen, 2016. "Social Risk and Social Class Patterns in Poverty and Quality of Life in Ireland, 2004-2013," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT328, June.
    13. Perugini, Cristiano, 2020. "Patterns and drivers of household income dynamics in Russia: The role of access to credit," BOFIT Discussion Papers 11/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    14. Oliver Denk & Boris Cournède, 2015. "Finance and income inequality in OECD countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1224, OECD Publishing.
    15. Karl Aiginger & Alois Guger, 2014. "Stylized Facts on the Interaction between Income Distribution and the Great Recession," Research in Applied Economics, Macrothink Institute, vol. 6(3), pages 157-178, September.
    16. Stephen P. Jenkins & Philippe Van Kerm, 2016. "Assessing Individual Income Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 679-703, October.
    17. Till Treeck, 2014. "Did Inequality Cause The U.S. Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 421-448, July.
    18. Pablo García S. & Camilo Pérez N., 2017. "Desigualdad, inflación, ciclos y crisis en Chile," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 44(2 Year 20), pages 185-221, December.
    19. Liotti, Giorgio, 2020. "Labour market flexibility, economic crisis and youth unemployment in Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 150-162.
    20. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, 2016. "The Vulnerable Are Not (Necessarily) the Poor," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting, volume 24, pages 29-57, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    recession; class; Ireland;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:49:y:2018:i:3:p:259-286. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Aedin Doris (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.esr.ie .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.