In this paper we make use of the first and second waves of the 2008 and 1998 cohorts of the Growing Up in Ireland study, to develop a multidimensional and dynamic approach to understanding the impact on families and children in Ireland of the Great Recession. Economic vulnerability is operationalised as involving a distinctive risk profile in relation to relative income, household joblessness and economic stress. We find that the recession was associated with a significant increase in levels of economic vulnerability and changing risk profiles involving a more prominent role for economic stress for both the 2008 and 1998 cohorts. The factors affecting vulnerability outcomes were broadly similar for both cohorts. Persistent economic vulnerability was significantly associated with lone parenthood, particularly for those with more than one child, lower levels of primary care giver (PCG) education and, to a lesser extent, younger age of PCG at child’s birth, number of children and a parent leaving or dying. Similar factors were associated with transient vulnerability in the first wave but the magnitude of the effects was significantly weaker particularly in relation to lone parenthood and level of education of the PCG. For entry into vulnerability the impact of these factors was again substantially weaker than for persistent and transient vulnerability indicating a significantly greater degree of socioeconomic heterogeneity among the group that became vulnerable during the recession. The findings raise policy and political problems that go beyond those associated with catering for groups that have tended to be characterized by high dependence on social welfare.
Williams, J., Greene, S.
2010
Key Outcomes for Children: New Evidence from 'Growing up in Ireland'
In this paper we make use of the 9-year-old wave of the Growing Up in Ireland study to analyse multidimensional deprivation in Ireland. The Alkire and Foster adjusted headcount ratio approach (AHR; Alkire and Foster, Journal of Public Economics, 95, 476–487, 2011a, Journal of Economic Inequality, 9, 289–314, 2011b) applied here constitutes a significant improvement on union and intersection approaches and allows for the decomposition of multidimensional poverty in terms of dimensions and sub-groups. The approach involves a censoring of data such that deprivations count only for those above the specified multidimensional threshold leading to a stronger set of interrelationships between deprivation dimensions. Our analysis shows that the composition of the adjusted headcount ratio is influenced by a range of socio-economic factors. For less favoured socio-economic groups dimensions relating to material deprivation are disproportionately represented while for the more advantaged groups, those relating to behavioral and emotional issues and social interaction play a greater role. Notwithstanding such variation in composition, our analysis showed that the AHCR varied systematically across categories of household type, and the social class, education and age group of the Primary Caregiver. Furthermore, these variables combined in a cumulative manner. The most systematic variation was in relation to the headcount of those above the multidimensional threshold rather than intensity, conditional on being above that cut-off point. Without seeking to arbitrate on the relative value of composite indices versus disaggregated profiles, our analysis demonstrates that there is much to be gained from adopting an approach with clearly understood axiomatic properties. Doing so allows one to evaluate the consequences of the measurement strategy employed for the understanding of levels of multidimensional deprivation, the nature of such deprivation profiles and socioeconomic risk patterns. Ultimately it permits an informed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the particular choices made.
Williams, J., Nixon, E., Smyth, E., Watson, D.
2016
Cherishing All the Children Equally? Children in Ireland 100 Years on from the Easter Rising
Cherishing All the Children Equally? Children in Ireland 100 Years on from the Easter Rising
None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHING ALL THE CHILDREN EQUALLY? brings together contributions from a range of disciplines to shed light on the processes of child development and to investigate how that development is influenced by a variety of demographic, family and socio-economic factors. Making extensive use of research and data that have emerged over recent years from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, the book considers whether or not all children can participate fully and equitably in contemporary Irish society. It asks whether or not we do, in fact, cherish all our children equally in modern Ireland, regardless of their family circumstances, health or ethnic background.
TABLES OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
Changing Perceptions and Experiences of Childhood, 1916-2016
Children and Families, Then & Now
Is Family Structure a Source of Inequality in Children’s Lives?
Parental Investment & Child Development
Inequalities in Access to Early Care and Education in Ireland
Inequalities from the Start? Children’s Integration into Primary School
Insights into the Prevalence of Special Educational Needs
The Experiences of Migrant Children in Ireland
Social Variation in Child Health & Development: A Life-course Approach
Child Access to GP Services in Ireland: Do User Fees Matter?
Anti-Social Behaviour at Age 13
Child Economic Vulnerability Dynamics in the Recession
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