Introduction
In this research paper we are going to be discussing about the micro-economic issues of Ireland, The economy of Ireland is a highly developed knowledge economy; a knowledge economy focuses on the production of goods and services induced by knowledge intensive activities. In the case of Ireland , it is focused on services in high-technology , life sciences, financial services and agriculture including agrifood . Ireland is also an open economy (6th on the Index of Economic Freedom), an open economy means that the country not only posses domestic actors but is also engaged in trade of products in the form of managerial exchange and technology transfers . In the global GDP per capita tables, Ireland ranks 4th of 186 in the IMF (international monetary fund) , table and 4th of 187 in the World Bank rankings. Foreign-owned multinationals make up a significant percentage of Ireland’s GDP. The “multinational tax schemes” used by some of these multinational firms contribute to a distortion in Ireland’s economic statistics; including GNI, GNP and GDP.
Despite the two jurisdictions using two different currencies (the euro and pound sterling), a growing amount of commercial activity is carried out. This has been possible by the two jurisdiction’s shared membership of the European Union, business communities and policymakers are all for the creation of an “all-Ireland economy” to take advantage of cost and boost competitiveness
There are two multi-city regions on the island of Ireland:
Dublin – Belfast corridor
Cork – limerick – Galway corridor
Current micro-economic status of Ireland
Since the end of the EU-IMF in 2013, Ireland has experienced steady economic growth, and has proven itself to be the fastest growing European economy. In 2019, the Irish economy continued to grow at a rapid pace, but experienced a slowdown ahead of the UK’s departure from the Euro zone. It experienced a 8.3% increase of GDP in 2018, then a growth slowdown of 5.5% of GDP in 2019 according to the IMF. The national economy has been supported by strong domestic demand and by the activities of multinational companies operating in the country. According to the updated International monetary fund reports from 14th April 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, GDP growth is expected to fall to -6.8% in 2020 and pick up to 6.3 %, subject to the post-pandemic global economy recovery, this might also be the conclusion of post-Brexit transition period.
The IMF expects the unemployment trend to be heavily affected by the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate being currently estimated to increase to 12.1% in 2020 and decrease slightly to 7.9% in 2021.
