Ireland's Economic Success: Reasons and Lessons

From being one of the poorest countries in Europe just twenty years ago, Ireland is now one of the richest in the world. The number of jobs doubled in under twenty years, living standards increased substantially and an economic boom has been sustained since 1994. Here, Paul Sweeney, the author of the first book on the Celtic Tiger ten years ago, asks why did Ireland, a basket case economy and poor for so long, suddenly take off?He focuses on the reasons why Ireland was successful economically and also examines in the lessons to be learned from this success. He is assisted by the insights of An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Peter Sutherland, as well as other leading business people, trade unionists and perceptive observers. In this international edition Frances Cairncross, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford and one of the world's leading economic writers, assisted by Daragh McDowell, has provided an introduction which sets Ireland's economic achievements in their international context and answers the question: Is the Irish experience replicable in other economies?