IRELAND'S MIRACLE: THE MARKET DIDN'T DO IT ALONE

摘要

Combo: Sure, tax breaks were key. But government investment in education and EU spending on infrastructure were just as important in luring companies. The Celtic Tiger, as Ireland now likes to call itself, is currently the economic champion of the European Union. Three decades ago, it was a sleepy, impoverished, protectionist country with little prospect for growth. Today, thanks to a six-year growth rate averaging 7% per annum, Irish unemployment has dropped from 16% to 4% in a decade. Ireland, whose longtime prime export was its sons, is experiencing net inward immigration.