Celtic Tiger In Ireland Analysis

2117 Words5 Pages

During the twentieth century, Ireland was suffering through a time of economic hardship. “Economic growth was stagnant, unemployment was at a historic high and exceeded anywhere in the EU, except possibly Spain, and the state was one of the most indebted in the world” . Irish men and women who had received a formal education had immigrated to other nations due to the unavailability of jobs at home. This left Ireland in a state of further economic downfall, and the lack of skilled workers left Ireland stuck. The 1990’s were a turning point for Ireland. A rise in industry within the nation, as well as an increase in exports, led Ireland to become the “shining nation” in Europe. It became internationally linked with one of the biggest power nations, the United States, and international trade became Ireland’s new source for a booming economy. This brought the rise of what was known as the Celtic Tiger in Ireland.
The Celtic Tiger was a label put on the Irish economy during the 1990’s. It was a new image for Ireland, one that mirrored the Asian Tiger in that it was young, vibrant and well educated as well. It also brought Ireland the idea of higher wages and lower taxes . This new identity was one in which set Ireland apart for the first time ever. This paper will look at the 1990’s phenomenon of the Celtic Tiger and how it shaped Ireland and its links with East Asia and the United States.
During the twentieth century, the world began to develop the idea of economic trade. Beginning in the 1960’s, the four Asian Tigers, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, demonstrated that a global economy, which was fueled by an import and export system with other countries, allowed the economy of the home country itself to flourish. Th...

... middle of paper ...

... low paying and men with higher paying jobs. It was further broken when industries came into the nation and were exposed to low taxes. Because of this, homeowners were taxed more in order to make up for this loss of taxation in industry. Also, the import of foreign industry into Ireland took away from indigenous business causing them to make little to no wages forcing them out of business. Lastly, the large industries that were now becoming prosperous in Ireland were not beneficial to Ireland itself. Instead of reinvesting profits from large industries throughout the nation back into Ireland’s economy, these profits were going back into the foreign nations, such as the United States. Therefore, although the Celtic Tiger seemed to thrive throughout the 1990’s, economic downfall was inevitable and Ireland returned to almost the same state as before this decade began.

More about Celtic Tiger In Ireland Analysis

Open Document