IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucn/wpaper/200914.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Policy lessons from Ireland’s latest depression

Author

Listed:
  • Karl Whelan

Abstract

In this paper, I provide a selective review of Ireland’s economic performance of the last 20 years, from the early days of the Celtic Tiger, through to the housing boom and the recent slump, and then attempt to draw a few lessons from the period. I argue, based on a range of observations, that a substantial slowdown was looming for Ireland by 2007, independent of what was going to happen in the global economy, and much of this evidence was ignored in the implementation of economic policy. The result was a range of policies based on an unwarranted over-optimism which left Ireland terribly exposed to the international downturn. Policy failures in the fiscal and banking are are discussed, as well as some common criticisms of policy that have less justification.

Suggested Citation

  • Karl Whelan, 2009. "Policy lessons from Ireland’s latest depression," Working Papers 200914, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:200914
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/2612
    File Function: First version, 2009
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kieran McQuinn & Karl Whelan, 2008. "Prospects for Growth in the Euro Area," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 54(4), pages 642-680, December.
    2. McCarthy, Yvonne & McQuinn, Kieran, 2010. "How are Irish households coping with their mortgage repayments? Information from the SILC Survey," Research Technical Papers 2/RT/10, Central Bank of Ireland.
    3. Kelly, Elish & McGuinness, Seamus & O'Connell, Philip J., 2009. "The Public-Private Sector Pay Gap in Ireland: What Lies Beneath?," Papers WP321, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    4. Patrick Honohan & Brendan Walsh, 2002. "Catching Up with the Leaders: The Irish Hare," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 33(1), pages 1-78.
    5. Kelly, Eilish & McGuinness, Seamus & O'Connell, Philip, 2009. "Benchmarking, Social Partnership and Higher Remuneration: Wage Settling Institutions and the Public-Private Sector Wage Gap in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 40(3), pages 339-370.
    6. Cussen, Mary & Kelly, John & Phelan, Gillian, 2008. "The Impact of Asset Price Trends on Irish Households," Quarterly Bulletin Articles, Central Bank of Ireland, pages 70-84, July.
    7. Honohan, Patrick, 2009. "Resolving Ireland’s Banking Crisis," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 40(2), pages 207-231.
    8. McQuinn, Kieran & O'Reilly, Gerard, 2006. "Assessing the Role of Income and Interest Rates in Determining House Prices," Research Technical Papers 15/RT/06, Central Bank of Ireland.
    9. R. A. Somerville, 2007. "Housing Tenure in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 38(1), pages 107-134.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. John FitzGerald, 2019. "Contributing to Macro-Economic Policy in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 50(4), pages 613-623.
    2. Colm McCarthy, 2009. "Fiscal Adjustment and Macroeconomic Re-balancing in Ireland," Working Papers 200928, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    3. Mac an Bhaird, Ciarán, 2013. "Demand for debt and equity before and after the financial crisis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 105-117.
    4. Mladen Čudanov & Ondrej Jaško & Gheorghe Săvoiu, 2012. "Public and Public Utility Enterprises Restructuring: Statistical and Quantitative Aid for Ensuring Human Resource Sustainability," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(32), pages 307-322, June.
    5. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Luis Garicano & Tano Santos, 2013. "Political Credit Cycles: The Case of the Eurozone," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 145-166, Summer.
    6. Donnellan, T. & Hanrahan, K. & Breen, James P. & Gillespie, P., 2013. "Climate Change and Agricultural Policy Coherence: Agricultural Growth and GHG Emissions in Ireland," 87th Annual Conference, April 8-10, 2013, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 158853, Agricultural Economics Society.
    7. Alan Barrett & Séamus McGuiness, 2012. "The Irish Labour Market and the Great Recession," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 10(02), pages 27-33, August.
    8. Constantin Gurdgiev & Brian M. Lucey & Ciarán Mac an Bhaird & Lorcan Roche-Kelly, 2011. "The Irish Economy: Three Strikes and You’re Out?," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 58(1), pages 19-41, March.
    9. Colm McCarthy, 2009. "Fiscal adjustment and re-balancing the Irish economy," Open Access publications 10197/1673, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    10. Seán Ó Riain, 2012. "The Crisis of Financialisation in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 43(4), pages 497-533.
    11. Elish Kelly & Adele Bergin, 2018. "The labor market in Ireland, 2000–2016," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 410-410, January.
    12. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon, 2012. "Factors affecting the level of farm indebtedness: the role of farming attitudes," Working Papers 1201, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.
    13. Cathal O’Donoghue & Jason Loughrey & Denisa M. Sologon, 2018. "Decomposing the Drivers of Changes in Inequality During the Great Recession in Ireland using the Fields Approach," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(2), pages 173-200.
    14. Nyamdash, Batsaikhan & Denny, Eleanor, 2011. "The economic impact of electricity conservation policies: A case study of Ireland," MPRA Paper 28384, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Colm McCarthy, 2009. "Ireland’s Second Fiscal Consolidation – Lessons from the Last Time," Working Papers 200917, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    16. Karl Whelan, 2011. "Ireland’s Sovereign Debt Crisis," Working Papers 201109, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    17. Adele Bergin & Elish Kelly & Paul Redmond, 2020. "The labor market in Ireland, 2000–2018," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 410-410, January.
    18. Lunn, Pete, 2011. "The Role of Decision-Making Biases in Ireland's Banking Crisis," Papers WP389, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    19. Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maítre, 2013. "The Great Recession and the Changing Distribution of Economic Vulnerability by Social Class: The Irish Case," Working Papers 201312, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    20. Mary Cussen, 2015. "Deciphering Ireland’s Macroeconomic Imbalance Indicators: Statistical Considerations," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 46(2), pages 293-313.
    21. repec:ces:ifodic:v:10:y:2012:i:2:p:18948043 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Honohan, Patrick & Donovan, Donal & Gorecki, Paul & Mottiar, Rafique, 2010. "The Irish Banking Crisis: Regulatory and Financial Stability Policy," MPRA Paper 24896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Luis Garicano & Tano Santos, 2013. "Political Credit Cycles: The Case of the Eurozone," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 145-166, Summer.
    3. David Byrne & David Duffy & John FitzGerald, 2018. "Household Formation and Tenure Choice: Did the Great Irish Housing Bust Alter Consumer Behaviour?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 287-317.
    4. Whelan, Karl, 2014. "Ireland’s Economic Crisis: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 424-440.
    5. Gorecki, Paul K., 2009. "The Recession, Budgets, Competition, and Regulation: Should the State Supply Bespoke Protection?," Papers BP2010/2, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    6. Tim Callan & Brian Nolan & John Walsh, 2011. "The Economic Crisis, Public Sector Pay and the Income Distribution," Research in Labor Economics, in: Who Loses in the Downturn? Economic Crisis, Employment and Income Distribution, pages 207-225, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    7. Sebastian Dellepiane & Niamh Hardiman, 2011. "Governing the Irish Economy: A Triple Crisis," Working Papers 201103, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    8. Brian Nolan & Bertrand Maitre & Sarah Voitchovsky & Christopher Whelan, 2012. "GINI DP 70: Inequality and Poverty in Boom and Bust: Ireland as a Case Study," GINI Discussion Papers 70, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    9. Lane, Philip R., 2009. "A New Fiscal Strategy for Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 40(2), pages 233-253.
    10. Byrne, David & McQuinn, Kieran, 2014. "Irish Economic Performance 1987-2013: A Growth Accounting Assessment," Research Notes RN2014/4/1, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    11. Russell, Helen & McGinnity, Fran & Kingston, Gillian, 2014. "Gender and the Quality of Work: From Boom to Recession," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT264.
    12. Bergin, Adele & Conefrey, Thomas & FitzGerald, John & Kearney, Ide, 2009. "Recovery Scenarios for Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS007.
    13. Kelly, Elish & McGuinness, Seamus & O'Connell, Philip J., 2013. "Comparing Public and Private Sector Pay in Ireland: Size Matters," Research Notes RN2012/4/2, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    14. repec:esr:chaptr:jacb200962 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Duffy, David & McQuinn, Kieran & Byrne, David & Morley, Ciara, 2014. "Quarterly Economic Commentary, Winter 2014," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number QEC20144, march.
    16. Philip O’Connell, 2013. "Cautious adjustment in a context of economic collapse: The public sector in the Irish crises," Chapters, in: Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead (ed.), Public Sector Shock, chapter 9, pages 337-370, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Kennedy, Gerard & McQuinn, Kieran, 2011. "Scenarios for Irish House Prices," Economic Letters 02/EL/11, Central Bank of Ireland.
    18. Kristof Dascher, 2015. "Foreign Direct Investment into Open and Closed Cities," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 62(2), pages 191-210, May.
    19. Brendan Walsh, 2002. "When Unemployment Disappears - Ireland in the 1990s," Working Papers 200229, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    20. Christopher Whelan & Bertrand Maitre, 2010. "Poverty in Ireland in Comparative European Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 91-110, January.
    21. Diarmaid Addison-Smyth & Kieran McQuinn, 2010. "Quantifying Revenue Windfalls from the Irish Housing Market," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 41(2), pages 201-233.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:200914. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Nicolas Clifton (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/educdie.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.