Ireland Archives - the patient investor

March 18, 2013

Cyprus Deposit Levy: No Panic Yet But Scary Long-Term Consequences – Forbes

Karl Whelan, Professor of Economics at University College, Dublin reminds us:

….the fact that we don’t see lines at ATMs in Spain and Italy doesn’t mean there isn’t a bank run going on. The Northern Rock episode was a complete anomaly. Modern bank runs stem from people pushing buttons to execute electronic withdrawals of large amounts of funds. For example, I was living in Ireland in 2010 when non-residents pulled €186 billion out of Irish banks between the end of July and the end of December. This was over 100% of Irish GDP and yet there wasn’t a single sign of panic among retail depositors.

December 14, 2012March 22, 2021

Productivity: Ireland leads the way

Ireland now leads the United States in labor productivity as measured by GDP (converted to USD after adjusting for purchasing power parity) to hours worked by the workforce. Mark Cassidy writes on Ireland’s strong productivity growth during the 1990s:

Strong productivity growth during this period was largely driven by substantial foreign direct investment inflows from the United States and sectoral change in industry — i.e. a continuing shift of capital and labour from agriculture and relatively low productivity manufacturing towards high-technology sectors including chemicals and ICT sectors — and was facilitated by macro and micro-economic reforms implemented since the late 1980s, favourable exchange rate and international economic developments, increased European integration and the availability of a young, relatively well-educated workforce.

Two factors stand out:

Ireland joined the euro-zone on its official launch in January 1999;
The Irish government is committed to a 12.5% corporate tax regime, among the lowest in Europe.

Removal of trade barriers and favorable tax rates attracted large investment in high-tech manufacturing, primarily from the United States.

December 6, 2011

FRBSF Economic Letter: Asset Price Booms and Current Account Deficits

Just as the United States was not the only country posting a large current account deficit, so too it was not the only country that experienced asset price booms. Figure 2 shows that countries with large current account deficits in 2006 also tended to have larger house price increases. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, China has experienced rapid house price appreciation despite its enormous current account surplus. But, in general, house price appreciation and current account deficits appear to have been positively associated across many countries.

via FRBSF Economic Letter: Asset Price Booms and Current Account Deficits (2011-37, 12/5/2011).

Colin Twiggs: ~ There appears to be a general rule that large current account deficits lead to asset price booms. But to prove the rule researchers need to address why Japan experienced a massive asset price boom in the 1980s, and why China experienced a similar boom over the last decade, when both were running current account surpluses.

October 28, 2011

Europe’s rescue euphoria threatened as Portugal enters ‘Grecian vortex’ – Telegraph

Monetary contraction in Portugal has intensified at an alarming pace and is mimicking the pattern seen in Greece before its economy spiralled out of control, raising concerns that the EU summit deal may soon [be] washed over by fast-moving events.

via Europe’s rescue euphoria threatened as Portugal enters ‘Grecian vortex’ – Telegraph.