The Central Bank published an interesting Economic letter in the past week written by former Governor, Patrick Honahan. It's very short but is very easy to read and serves as a useful illustration of something that we all knew already. The letter can be viewed here.
He looks at the distortions the multinationals have on GDP/GNI and HDI and argues that we really rank somewhere between 8th and 12th for prosperity in the EU and 21st internationally. I'm a little surprised that the ranking could be as low as 12th in the EU but the logic seems sound enough.
From the preamble:
The well-known distortions affecting Ireland’s GDP complicate international comparisons. Ireland is a prosperous country, but per capita GDP data mislead by placing it second only to Luxembourg in the EU. Other measures, such as the Human Development Index, are also marred. Modified data provide an indication of the extent of the re-ranking that it is warranted.
He looks at the distortions the multinationals have on GDP/GNI and HDI and argues that we really rank somewhere between 8th and 12th for prosperity in the EU and 21st internationally. I'm a little surprised that the ranking could be as low as 12th in the EU but the logic seems sound enough.
From the preamble:
The well-known distortions affecting Ireland’s GDP complicate international comparisons. Ireland is a prosperous country, but per capita GDP data mislead by placing it second only to Luxembourg in the EU. Other measures, such as the Human Development Index, are also marred. Modified data provide an indication of the extent of the re-ranking that it is warranted.