Economy of Ireland: An Outlook

Ireland is a small, open, trade-dependent economy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world. It constitutes around 1.8% of overall output in the Euro Area. Its openness is reflected both in the international mobility of its labour and capital reflected by strong migrationary flows and high levels of foreign direct investment. Its high level of external trade is signalled by a high share of combined exports and imports of goods to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was 115% in 2002. In recent decades the Irish economy has been transformed from being agrarian and traditional manufacturing based to one increasingly based on the hi-tech and internationally traded services sectors. In 2002, the services sector accounted for 65% of employment, industry for 28% and agriculture for 7%.
Over the last decade, unprecedented economic growth has seen the level of Irish real GDP almost double in size. There have been many reasons advanced for Ireland's success, which in c...