From the BBC: Record decline hits Irish economy.
I explained why this was going to happen last September.
"Celtic Tiger"? That has a pretty hollow ring to it now.
Thursday 26 March 2009
Yup. We saw this one coming.
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4 comments:
Celtic Tiger becomes Paddy pussycat? "First World" and "Advanced Economies" may also come to have hollow rings. Of all the things to poke fun at the Paddies about, I think that this is perhaps the unwisest.
A Celtic Kitten once you've analysed it.
Yes Ireland is suffering a 7.5% recession. However it has gone from 2/3rds our standard of living in 1989 to 140% with an average growth rate of about 7% so that decline hardly reduces them to penury. They are also being sensible enough to cut their public sector. Their big problem is that they are stuck with the Euro whereas the £ has been so dramaticaly falling, which would be giving us a great opportunity if we were competently run.
Even so I don't see many bets that they will not be out of recession before us.
But it is surely a temporary thing. In my lifetime Irishmen have gone from being navvies to being the businessmen and venture capitalists that the British used to be. Sure a top heavy financial and construction sector has crashed - like the UK - but they have learned enterprise and are a force in capitalism all round the world. The brand names are everywhere. They will recover with the rest of the world in due course. It is hubris to write them off. Ireland is a different country than it was 50 years ago.
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