Social Exclusion, Discrimination, & Hate Crimes

This article details trends in the Irish housing market which saw prices rise 8.9% in the first quarter of 2023.  House prices increased in all but one county across Ireland with Dublin having the most sales out of any county and the most expensive housing market with median home prices of €425,000. This rise occurred in spite of a 3.6% slide in the volume of home sales in the same period. The decline in home sales has been attributed to rising interest rates in the European Central Bank which has in turn hurt the demand for mortgages. Despite higher mortgage rates and shrinking demand, home prices continue to grow, indicating a major concern in the housing supply of Ireland. The country now faces the issue of bolstering its housing supply while dealing with supply chain constraints across Europe following the pandemic. However, if the housing supply isn’t addressed and prices continue to surge, Ireland can lose portions of its population as aspiring homebuyers may have to turn to options outside of their home country.

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times.

Curran, I. (2023). Irish house prices rise 8.9% in first three months of 2023. The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2023/05/11/house-prices-rise-89-despite-fall-in-number-of-sales/

This study attempts to determine how socioeconomic inequalities can influence childhood vaccination rates in the Republic of Ireland. While vaccination rates have dramatically increased in nations within the European Union (EU), there are concerns that select groups of children are lagging behind in vaccination rates which can be attributed to lower socioeconomic status. An EU objective was to eliminate measles by 2010 which was not achieved due to lower than needed vaccination rates. As EU member states allow free movement across nations, addressing this vaccine inequality is vital to ensure that outbreaks of preventable illnesses do not occur across multiple nations. Doherty et al found that factors such as household income, socioeconomic status and household structure can greatly influence infant vaccination rates in Ireland. Policy responses are recommended at the household and parental level with a focus on targeting mothers in order to boost infant vaccination rates. This reasoning stems from the fact that mothers of non-Irish descent in Ireland tend to be first generation immigrants who can be less complacent with vaccination. There are concerns in how these policies could be developed and implemented as mandatory vaccination of immigrants can be seen as a potential conflict of individual liberty. However, if vaccination rates aren’t improved in a meaningful way then the unvaccinated youth still remain at risk of contracting avoidable diseases. 

Edel Doherty, Brendan Walsh, and Ciaran O’Neill are a part of the Discipline of Economics, J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, National University of Ireland. 

Doherty, E., Walsh, B., & O’Neill, C. (2014). Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in child vaccination: results from Ireland. Vaccine, 32(27), 3438-3444.10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.03.084

This article discusses the “Great Gatsby Curve (GGC),” the belief that greater income inequality is associated with less social mobility, and how the GGC can further long-term income inequality in various countries. Assuming the GGC holds true for all countries regardless of economic development, it highlights a concerning trend that if social mobility in a country is limited, then income inequality across multiple generations will continue to grow. Jerrim and Macmillan attempt to replicate the GGC while also factoring in how educational attainment can affect intergenerational mobility. It’s argued that families with greater financial resources have:

• A greater capacity to invest in their children's development.
• A greater incentive to invest in their children when economic returns to education are high.

While this study can only observe associations for the GGC and how education can influence it, the results do point towards educational inequality being a key factor in the GGC. Jerrim and Macmillan propose that developing countries should focus on the redistribution of financial resources in order to reduce educational disparities between rich and poor populations. By offering equal opportunities in educational attainment, it increases intergenerational mobility and therefore reduces income inequality long-term.

John Jerrim and Lindsey Macmillan are both Associate Professors at the University College London Institute of Education. 

Jerrim, J., & Macmillan, L. (2015). Income inequality, intergenerational mobility, and the Great Gatsby Curve: Is education the key?. Social Forces, 94(2), 505-533.