Reviews of 2 books on Ireland;
In the old days -- and that's really just a few years ago -- what passed for the study of economics in Irish universities involved a glaring collision between abstract mathematical formulae and the musings of long dead British and European economic thinkers who had "ian" strapped to the ends of their surnames after their deaths...
While once the economic state of play was really only an issue for the Irish, now people of any number of nationalities take an interest in the price of a building brick in Ballsbridge.
Many families in the Baltic countries, Eastern Europe, West Africa, and even Britain now depend on income earned by relatives on a small island on Europe's western edge…Proof of the growing importance of the Irish economy to the broader world can be found in a line in the press release for Michael O'Sullivan's new tome, "Ireland and the Global Question."...
There is, he said, a growing problem of inequality, and while many think that Ireland has long been a bit of a "mammy economy," in his view, it is still low in real terms when compared to Gross Domestic Product or its bigger relation, Gross National Produc...
The "big political project," said O'Sullivan, is the extent to which the strong economy can be used to benefit society.
The Irish model, he believes, is easy to replicate. Much success can be credited by low corporate taxes and stable institutions.
Because the new wave of globalization is American, an independent Ireland is better able to ride on its coattails and, consequently, has been one country that has made a success out of globalization trends.
"My book warns of the need for a sustainable economic base," he said.
The question revolving around David McWilliams is if can he maintain a sustainable pace.
His book, "The Pope's Children," was the best selling non-fiction book in Ireland last year. It is set for publication in the U.S. later in 2007 and right now he is working on the sequel.
On purely economics, McWilliams, who is 40, thinks that Ireland should think in terms of being a medieval city-state like Venice.
Ireland's European roots, McWilliams believes, are only skin-deep.
At the same time, Ireland needs to be much more au fait with China. "There are 130,000 Chinese now working in the Irish economy. The problem with the EU is that Ireland becomes increasingly flat-footed tying itself into an alliance with countries whose populations are falling," he said.
"We became obsessed with what others have. Instead of growing up, we reverted back to infancy. Ireland's adult population is behaving like babies ... rather than making us happy, copious cash is making many people insecure.
Related;
The EU says "dia dhuit"' to Irish
Is Ireland really the second wealthiest nation in the world?
Europe’s ’Tiger’
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