Wage convergence and integrated labour markets Ireland and Britain, 1841-1991

The aim of this paper is to review, in a broad historical context, what we know about the behaviour of Irish wage rates relative to those in Britain. Attention will be focused on the long-run effects of emigration and the structure of employment on wages in Ireland and on whether an equilibrium relationship can be said to have existed between Irish and British industrial wages since the second world war. It is hoped that the lessons that can be drawn from Ireland's experience will shed light on the topical question of the extent to which it is plausible to expect market forces to lead to convergence of living standards over the long run.A hard copy is available in UCD Library at GEN 330.08 IR/UN