Volume 2021 of the Central Bank’s Economic Letters series has seen a set of interesting contributions across a range of topics so far this year. The Economic Letters published to date are:
- No.1, Is Ireland really the most prosperous country in Europe?, Patrick Honohan, 4th February.
- No.2, The Impact of Covid-19 on the Incomes and Debt Sustainability of Irish Households, Brian Cahill (CSO) and Reamonn Lydon 23rd February.
- No.3, COVID-19 and the Public Finances in Ireland, Thomas Conefrey, Rónan Hickey and Niall McInerney, 22nd March.
- No.4, Saving during the pandemic: Waiting out the storm?, Reamonn Lydon and Tara McIndoe-Calder, 30th March.
One reply on “2021 Economic Letters from the Central Bank”
I was aware of Prof. Honohan’s “Economic Letter”, but hadn’t accessed it ’til now. I’m not surpised at his observation that: “While Irish prices (as collected for the international comparisons) were about equal to the average of those in the other euro area countries when the ECB was founded in 1998, they rose progressively to 27 per cent higher than the
average by 2008. Although they subsequently fell back (to about 16 per cent above the euro area average by 2012), Irish prices then resumed their acceleration relative to other euro area countries and were back around their previous peak by 2019 (largely due to the surge in the price of housing as measured in the PPP).” (I’ve been trying to highlight this for some time.)
But I am surprised at the reluctance of Irish economists to investigate why this is the case – rather than seeking to find excuses and reasons to undermine the substance and thrust of this observation.