IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp2990.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Earnings of Immigrants in Ireland: Results from the 2005 EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Barrett, Alan

    (ESRI, Dublin)

  • McCarthy, Yvonne

    (ESRI, Dublin)

Abstract

This paper has three objectives. First, a review of the developing body of work on the economics of immigration in Ireland is provided. Second, the analysis undertaken by Barrett and McCarthy (forthcoming) of earnings of immigrants in Ireland is updated. Third, the earnings of immigrant women are assessed to see if they experience a “double disadvantage”. Among other findings, the review of the emerging literature points to immigrants faring less well in the Irish labour market relative to native employees. As regards the analysis conducted in this paper, we find that immigrants were earning 15 percent less than comparable natives employees in 2005. For immigrants from non-English speaking countries, the wage disadvantage was 20 percent. The corresponding figure for immigrants from the EU’s New Member States was 31 percent. A double disadvantage is found for immigrant women, with the earnings of female immigrants found to be 14 percent less than those of comparable native female employees. This double disadvantage is concentrated among female immigrants with third level degrees.

Suggested Citation

  • Barrett, Alan & McCarthy, Yvonne, 2007. "The Earnings of Immigrants in Ireland: Results from the 2005 EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions," IZA Discussion Papers 2990, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2990
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp2990.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ray Barrell & John Fitzgerald & Rebecca Riley, 2010. "EU Enlargement and Migration: Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 373-395, March.
    2. Alan Barrett & Adele Bergin & David Duffy, 2006. "The Labour Market Characteristics and Labour Market Impacts of Immigrants in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 1-26.
    3. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Freeman & Lawrence F. Katz, 2021. "How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 8, pages 163-234, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Mincer, Jacob, 1978. "Family Migration Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 749-773, October.
    5. Duleep, Harriet & Dowhan, Daniel J., 2002. "Revisiting the Family Investment Model with Longitudinal Data: The Earnings Growth of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Women," IZA Discussion Papers 568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Ray Barrell & John Fitzgerald & Rebecca Riley, 2010. "EU Enlargement and Migration: Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 373-395, March.
    7. Jorgen Hansen & Magnus Lofstrom, 2003. "Immigrant Assimilation and Welfare Participation Do Immigrants Assimilate Into or Out of Welfare?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    8. Friedberg, Rachel M, 2000. "You Can't Take It with You? Immigrant Assimilation and the Portability of Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 221-251, April.
    9. David Duffy & John Fitz Gerald & Ide Kearney, 2005. "Rising House Prices in an Open Labour Market," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 36(3), pages 251-272.
    10. Alan Barrett & Yvonne McCarthy, 2007. "Immigrants in a Booming Economy: Analysing Their Earnings and Welfare Dependence," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(4‐5), pages 789-808, December.
    11. Barrett, Alan & FitzGerald, John & Nolan, Brian, 2002. "Earnings inequality, returns to education and immigration into Ireland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 665-680, November.
    12. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2002. "Longitudinal Analysis of Immigrant Occupational Mobility: A Test of the Immigrant Assimilation Hypothesis," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 02-08, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    13. Bauer, Thomas K. & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 1999. "Assessment of Possible Migration Pressure and its Labour Market Impact Following EU Enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Research Reports 3, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Honohan, Patrick, 1992. "The Link between Irish and UK Unemployment," Quarterly Economic Commentary: Special Articles, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), vol. 1992(1-Spring).
    15. David Duffy, 2007. "The Housing Tenure of Immigrants in Ireland: Some Preliminary Analysis," Papers WP188, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    16. Geary, Patrick T. & McCarthy, Colm, 1976. "Wage and price determination in a labour-exporting economy : The case of Ireland," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 219-233, October.
    17. Alan J. Auerbach & Philip Oreopoulos, 2000. "The Fiscal Effect of US Immigration: A Generational-Accounting Perspective," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 14, pages 123-156, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2005. "Immigrant Earnings: A Longitudinal Analysis," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 51(4), pages 485-503, December.
    19. Baker, Terence J. & Scott, Susan & Wren, A, 1992. "Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 1992," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number QEC19921, June.
    20. Charles M. Beach & Christopher Worswick, 1993. "Is There a Double-Negative Effect on the Earnings of Immigrant Women?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 19(1), pages 36-53, March.
    21. Baker, Terence J. & Scott, Susan & Cantillon, S, 1993. "Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 1993," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number QEC19931, June.
    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. Joanna M Clifton-Sprigg, 2019. "Out of sight, out of mind? The education outcomes of children with parents working abroad," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 73-94.
    2. Peter Huber & Doris A. Oberdabernig, 2013. "Does Migration Threaten the Sustainability of European Welfare States? WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 21," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46882, April.
    3. Frank Walsh, 2013. "Labour Market Regulation and Migration in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(1), pages 85-102.
    4. Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna, 2014. "Out of sight, out of mind? Educational outcomes of children with parents working abroad," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-45, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. Gusciute, Egle & Arnold, Samantha & Quinn, Emma, 2016. "Integration of Beneficiaries of International Protection into the Labour Market: policies and practices in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS52, June.
    6. Sarah Voitchovsky & Bertrand Maitre & Brian Nolan, 2012. "Wage Inequality in Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” Boom," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 43(1), pages 99-133.
    7. FitzGerald, John & Bergin, Adele & Conefrey, Thomas & Diffney, Sean & Duffy, David & Kearney, Ide & Lyons, Sean & Malaguzzi Valeri, Laura & Mayor, Karen & Richard S. J. Tol, 2008. "Medium-Term Review 2008-2015, No. 11," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number MTR11, June.

    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. FitzGerald, John & Bergin, Adele & Conefrey, Thomas & Diffney, Sean & Duffy, David & Kearney, Ide & Lyons, Sean & Malaguzzi Valeri, Laura & Mayor, Karen & Richard S. J. Tol, 2008. "Medium-Term Review 2008-2015, No. 11," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number MTR11, June.
    2. Francesca D'Auria & Kieran Mc Morrow & Karl Pichelmann, 2008. "Economic impact of migration flows following the 2004 EU enlargement process - A model based analysis," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 349, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. Martin Kahanec & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2008. "Migration in an Enlarged EU: A Challenging Solution?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 849, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    4. N. N., 2009. "Labour Mobility within the EU in the Context of Enlargement and the Functioning of the Transitional Arrangements," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 35641, April.
    5. Ray Barrell & John Fitzgerald & Rebecca Riley, 2010. "EU Enlargement and Migration: Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 373-395, March.
    6. Ray Barrell & John Fitzgerald & Rebecca Riley, 2010. "EU Enlargement and Migration: Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 373-395, March.
    7. Alan Barrett & Adele Bergin, 2009. "Estimating the Impact of Immigration in Ireland," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 35, pages 1-2.
    8. Alan Barrett & Adele Bergin & David Duffy, 2006. "The Labour Market Characteristics and Labour Market Impacts of Immigrants in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 1-26.
    9. Morgenroth, Edgar & FitzGerald, John & FitzGerald, John, 2006. "Summary and Conclusions," Book Chapters, in: Morgenroth, Edgar (ed.),Ex-Ante Evaluation of the Investment Priorities for the National Development Plan 2007-2013, chapter 24, pages 317-333, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
      • Baker, Terence J. & FitzGerald, John & Honohan, Patrick & FitzGerald, John & Honohan, Patrick, 1996. "Summary and Conclusions," Book Chapters, in: Baker, Terence J. (ed.),Economic Implications for Ireland of EMU, chapter 12, pages 339-352, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    10. Lozej, Matija, 2019. "Economic migration and business cycles in a small open economy with matching frictions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 604-620.
    11. Mihaela Simionescu & Yuriy Bilan & Grzegorz Mentel, 2017. "Economic Effects of Migration from Poland to the UK," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(46), pages 757-757, August.
    12. Alan Barrett & Eilish Kelly, 2008. "How Reliable is the Quarterly National Household Survey for Migration Research?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 39(3), pages 191-205.
    13. Cahit Guven & Lan Anh Tong & Mutlu Yuksel, 2020. "Australia's Immigration Selection System and Labour Market Outcomes in a Family Context: Evidence from Administrative Data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 96(S1), pages 50-77, June.
    14. Alan Barrett & Séamus McGuinness & Martin O’Brien & Philip O’Connell, 2013. "Immigrants and Employer-provided Training," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 52-78, March.
    15. Alan Barrett & Elish Kelly, 2008. "Using a Census to Assess the Reliability of a National Household Survey for Migration Research: The Case of Ireland," Papers WP253, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    16. Abdulla, Kanat, 2020. "Human capital accumulation: Evidence from immigrants in low-income countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 951-973.
    17. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2011. "Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 1-32, Spring.
    18. Tate, Robert & Finlayson, Greg & MacWilliam, Leonard & Wiley, Miriam M. & Morgenroth, Edgar & FitzGerald, John, 2006. "Health," Book Chapters, in: Morgenroth, Edgar (ed.),Ex-Ante Evaluation of the Investment Priorities for the National Development Plan 2007-2013, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    19. Zaiceva, A. & Zimmermann, K.F., 2016. "Migration and the Demographic Shift," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 119-177, Elsevier.
    20. O'Connell, Philip J. & Russell, Helen & FitzGerald, John, 2006. "Human Resources," Book Chapters, in: Morgenroth, Edgar (ed.),Ex-Ante Evaluation of the Investment Priorities for the National Development Plan 2007-2013, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ireland; immigrants’ earnings;

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp2990. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.