The Evolution of Catholic-Protestant Labour Market Inequality in Northern Ireland, 1983-2014

Neil Rowland (), Duncan McVicar and Ian Shuttleworth ()
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Neil Rowland: Queen's University Belfast
Ian Shuttleworth: Queen's University Belfast

No 11633, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Ethnic and religious differentials in labour market outcomes within many countries have been remarkably persistent. Yet one very well-known differential – the Catholic/Protestant unemployment differential in Northern Ireland – has largely (although not completely) disappeared. This paper charts its decline since the mid-1980s and examines potential explanations using Census data from 1991, 2001 and 2011 together with annual survey data. These data span the ending of The Troubles, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the introduction of fair employment legislation, growth in hidden unemployment, and major structural changes in Northern Ireland. We assess the relative contributions of these changes.

Keywords: labour market inequality; economic inactivity; religion; unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J64 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 56 pages
Date: 2018-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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