Question for the readership: has Thierry Henry provided a boost to the Irish economy, by ensuring that the Irish football team (and the travelling band of supporters) will not be in South Africa next summer?
The Department of Finance has released its pre-budget outlook: you can download it here.
One striking projection: GNP will shrink by 10.5 percent in 2009 [the contraction in GDP will be 7.5 percent].
Last week’s SSISI meeting featured a paper by Patrick Foley and Fiona O’Callaghan of the CSO and a ‘vote of thanks‘ by Seamus McGuinness of the ESRI.
Today’s Irish Times contains a column by Dan O’Brien, based on his new book, which makes some interesting claims about possible links between the Irish constitutional order and what Dan O’Brien characterises at a uniquely Irish pattern of economic performance: slump-slump-boom-slump.
It seems like a topic worth adding to the mix in this forum.
FAS produces a useful quarterly commentary on the Irish labour market, which provides a detailed analysis of what has been happening in recent months: you can read a summary (and download the full report) here.