Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Independent Ireland In Comparative Perspective
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2016-12)
    This paper surveys independent Ireland’s economic policies and performance. It has three main messages. First, the economic history of post-independence Ireland was not particularly unusual. Very often, things that were happening in Ireland were happening elsewhere as well. Second, for a long time we were hampered by an excessive dependence on a poorly performing UK economy. And third, EC membership in 1973, and the Single Market programme of the late 1980s and early 1990s, were absolutely crucial for us. Irish independence and EU membership have complemented each other, rather than being in conflict: each was required to give full effect to the other. Irish independence would not have worked as well for us as it did without the EU; and the EU would not have worked as well for us as it did without political independence.
      1035
  • Publication
    The Irish Economy During the Century After Partition
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2021-04) ;
    We provide a centennial overview of the Irish economy in the one hundred years following partition and independence. A comparative perspective allows us to distinguish between those aspects of Irish policies and performance that were unique to the country, and those which mirrored developments elsewhere. While Irish performance was typical in the long run, the country under-performed prior to the mid-1980s and over-performed for the rest of the twentieth century. Real growth after 2000 was slow. The mainly chronological narrative highlights the roles of convergence forces, trade and industrial policy, and monetary and fiscal policy. While the focus is mostly on the south of the island, we also survey the Northern Irish experience during this period.
      323
  • Publication
    Irish economic growth, 1945-1988
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 1993-10) ;
    The paper reviews the economic performance of the Republic of Ireland since 1945. Its focus is comparative; Ireland's record is assessed against the evidence in OECD and Penn Mark V data sets for a 'convergence club' of European economies, and is found wanting. The comparison confirms that the 1950s were a particularly bleak decade for Ireland but, more surprisingly, Ireland also performed less well than predicted by convergence criteria in both 1960-1973 and 1973-1988. The paper then assesses a range of explanations for this poor performance.
      741