There is no agreed measure of living standards or wellbeing in economics, at least one that allows for an ironclad conclusion one way or the other.

That said, the latest comparative analysis of the island’s two economies, Northern Ireland and the Republic, published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is about as unequivocal as it gets. In nearly every metric worth considering – wages, disposable income, productivity, labour market participation, educational attainment, hospital waiting lists, life expectancy – there is a gap between the North and the South in favour of the Republic. And it’s a gap that, in most cases, is growing.

Associate Research Professor at the ESRI & co-author of the report, Adele Bergin, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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