The industrial development authority in the Irish economy

Starting from humble beginnings thirty years ago as a promotional body within the Department of Industry and Commerce, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has grown into an organisation employing almost 540 people, with an annual budget of approximately £85 million in 1978 and with programmes bearing on practically every aspect of industrial activity in the Irish economy. The IDA wields more influence on the formulation of industrial policy than any other body in the state. It is a sophisticated, efficient organisation which likes to operate with a high profile. Given its scale of expenditure and pervasive influence, one would expect the IDA to constitute a target for much disaffected criticism. This, however, is not the case. The IDA arouses mostly benign vibrations in the Irish body politic, a fact which in itself lends interest to a description and evaluation of this remarkable organisation's activities

Foreword by Professor Dermot McAleese on the occasion of his presidential address

This is a good year to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of our Society! The Irish economy continues to boom and prospects remain bright. At first many were sceptical about the Celtic Tiger (as Morgan Stanley christened it). Was it all skin and no substance? But, as record after record has been broken, the sceptics have been silenced. The statistics show GNP growth averaging over 8 per cent since 1994. Between 1994 and 1999, real GNP is projected to increase by two-thirds. Growth in numbers employed has reached unprecedented rates, the national finances are regaining health, the balance of payments remains positive, and inflation remains relatively dormant. In a landmark judgement, the Department of Finance recently declared itself ?comfortable? with the economy?s performance and the public finances. And to cap all this good news on the economic front, we have the suspension of violence in Northern Ireland

Capital inflows and direct foreign investment in Ireland 1952-1970

The role of foreign capital in activating and sustaining Ireland\u27s post- War economic growth is a subject of compelling interest. The aims of this paper are twofold: first to examine the constituents of the capital inflow, paying particular regard to the experience of the last decade and, secondly, to analyse the composition, origin and principal features of direct investment in manufacturing enterprises

The Irish Economy : From Lame Duck to Celtic Tiger

Ireland's recent economic growth - the Celtic Tiger phenomenon - has attracted world attention. This paper outlines the changes it has effected on people's lives through enhanced prosperity, greater availability of jobs and lower poverty. The economic transformation is attributed to several factors that proved mutually self-reinforcing : a booming US economy, EU structural funds and other support, stabilisation of government finances and low taxes and social partnership. Challenges to the more prosperous Ireland are also analysed, including the prospect of soon becoming a net donor to the EU, and danger of a loss of competitiveness due to rising pay costs, lower productivity growth and an unpredictable euro exchange rate. The No vote in the Nice referendum last year led to a reappraisal of Ireland's reputation as a good European and reversing that decision will take considerable effort. Ireland has been hit by the slowdown in the world economy, and the Celtic Tiger growth rates of the 1990s are unlikely to be repeated. Nevertheless important structural change in the economy has occurred and this bodes well for the future.La récente croissance de l'économie en Irlande - le phénomène du Tigre Celtique - a attiré l'attention du monde entier. Le présent article étudie le changement que ce phénomène a suscité dans la vie des Irlandais, en raison d'une prospérité accrue, de la croissance de l'emploi et du recul de la pauvreté. La transformation de l'économie est attribuée à plusieurs facteurs qui se sont révélés complémentaires : une économie américaine florissante, les subventions européennes et autres aides, la stabilisation de la politique financière du gouvernement, la baisse des impôts et le partenariat social. Les problèmes que rencontre cette Irlande prospère sont également analysés, comme, par exemple, la perspective de devenir sous peu un pays qui finance l'Europe, le danger d'une baisse de la compétitivité en raison de l'augmentation des coûts salariaux, d'une diminution de la croissance de la productivité et des fluctuations du cours de l'euro. Le Non au référendum sur le Traité de Nice l'année dernière a amené à revoir la réputation de 'bon élève' européen de l'Irlande et il sera extrêmement difficile de renverser ce vote. L'Irlande a été frappée par le ralentissement de l'économie mondiale, ce qui fait que les taux de croissance du Tigre Celtique des années 90 ont peu de chance de se répéter. Néanmoins, il s'est produit un changement important dans la structure de l'économie irlandaise, ce qui augure bien de son avenir.McAleese Dermot. The Irish Economy : From Lame Duck to Celtic Tiger. In: Études irlandaises, n°27-1, 2002. pp. 161-182

Intra-industry trade and industrial adjustment: the Irish experience

This paper updates and extends previous studies of Irish intra-industry trade (IIT). The reported IIT proportions are calculated from the most comprehensive Irish trade data set used in this context to date, both in terms of time coverage and of statistical detail. Even at a five-digit level of industry disaggregation, 38 per cent of all trade and 44 per cent of trade in manufactured goods were found to be IIT in 1990. The stabilisation and partial decline of IIT levels in the 1980s, detected by earlier studies, is confirmed by reference to Grubel-Lloyd and Aquino-adjusted measures. This decline reflects a pattern of increased inter-industry specialisation instead of the trend towards higher intra-industry specialisation observed at the earlier stages of Irish trade liberalisation. Between 1985 and 1990, Irish industry specialised out of labour-intensive sectors into capital-intensive, export-oriented industries. As a result, growth of manufacturing employment (3 per cent) was considerably smaller than the increases in output (27 per cent) and trade volumes (33 per cent). This process of adjustment is analysed in detail, applying new methods of measuring marginal IIT on a set of matching trade and production data for Irish manufacturing. IIT is found to be associated with lower adjustment costs than inter-industry trade

Ireland\u27s fiscal stabilisation ? achievements and prospects: editors\u27 introduction

The papers in this special issue of the Review were initially prepared for a conference of the Irish Economic Association held at Trinity College, Dublin on Thursday 19th September 1991. The purpose of the conference was to study in detail the remarkable turnaround which took place in Ireland\u27s fiscal position in the late 1980s and which has endured into the early 1990s. Through much of the last decade, Ireland\u27s fiscal problems had been the subject of much adverse comment both from inside and outside the country. The problems began with the fiscal expansion programme of the late 1970s. Public borrowing increased, the debt/GNP ratio mounted, and the economy stagnated. By 1986, the debt/GNP ratio had reached more than 130 per cent, a figure well i n excess of the debt ratios of what were termed the heavily indebted developing countries. The Exchequer Borrowing Requirement (EBR) remained apparently immovable at an alarming 13 per cent of GNP. A mood of fatalism and despondency prevailed about the nation\u27s ability to come to grips with this problem

Employment coefficients for Irish trade with extra-EEC countries - measurement and implications

This paper estimates the likely direction and size of changes in manufacturing employment associated with expansion of Ireland\u27s extra-EEC trade. These changes are likely to be negative for extra-EEC trade generally, strongly negative for trade with LDCs and Japan but positive for trade with North America