David Begg examines how four small open economies- Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland- have managed the stresses and strains of Europeanisation since the single market came into being, and as fault lines begin to appear within the European integration project. In particular, he drills down into the Irish Polity to see how its institutions have engaged with Europe and how decisions on critical issues like integration, EMU and Social Partnership were reached. He finds that both Ireland and Europe are at a critical juncture for different but interconnected reasons, and identifies the options that are available to them.

Having stagnated for decades in the shadow of the UK, the Irish economy's performance improved after it joined the European Union (EEC) in 1973. This Element shows how the challenge of EU membership gave focus and direction to Irish economic policy. No longer dependent on low value-added agricultural exports to Britain, within the EU Ireland became a hub for multinational corporations in IT and pharmaceutical products. This export success required and facilitated a strengthening of education and social policy infrastructures, and underpinned the achievement of high average living standards. EU membership has also brought challenges, and several severe setbacks have resulted from Irish policy mistakes. But the European flavour of Ireland's structural policies (leavened with exposure to US experience) has helped it navigate the hazards of hyper-globalization with fewer political tensions than seen elsewhere.

Ireland is a small, open economy, heavily integrated with the British economy as well as an enthusiastic and fully active member of the European Union. How it is influenced by and responds to these circumstances is central to an understanding of its economy. This book provides an account of the main features, performance and associated policy issues of the economy of Ireland in the 1990s. The book opens with an extensive chapter outlining the historical development of the Irish economy from the seventeenth century to the present day. Part 1 then examines the issue of choosing, defining and measuring policy objectives for the economy. Part 2 explores the role and performance of the government in policy implementation, focusing in particular on public expenditure, social partnership arrangements, regulation, taxation, and fiscal and monetary policy. Part 3 looks at the overall performance of the economy, in terms of economic growth, employment and unemployment, trade and exchange rate policy, with special reference to the EU dimension. Part 4 examines the Irish government's policy towards the different sectors of the economy (agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors) and its relation with EU policy. The central role of competitiveness and competition policy for all sectors of the economy is emphasised. The book includes numerous statistical tables and charts, as well as a comprehensive bibliography.

Between Two Worldstraces the social and economic performance of independent Ireland since the establishment of the state in 1922. The book is an analytical survey. It provides an overview of Ireland's social and economic policy from independence to the present day but also employs a comparative context in order to identify the nature of Irish economy and society. It concludes that Ireland has not benefited from economic growth to the same degree as other small open economies in Europe. The book assesses a number of possible explanations for this situation, including colonialism, neo-colonialism and under development. The author contends, however, that none of these models offer a satisfactory explanation of the reality of modern Ireland. He suggests instead that the Republic of Ireland can be characterised as a semi-peripheral state, similar to some Mediterranean countries, neither first world nor third worldoin short, a society that has experienced some development but which is neither a mature industrial nation nor a conspicuously poor one. DEGREESR Contents: Politics and National Development; Independence and the Obstacles to Economic Development in the Free State 1922-1927; Fianna Fail and the Challenge to the Free Trade Economy 1927-1932; The Drive to Industrialie: Fianna Fail and Protectionism 1932-1939; The Failure of Radical Alternatives: Policy Formation 1939-1948; The Crisis of the Traditional 1948-1961; Towards and Industrial Ec

Inhaltsangabe: Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: List of TablesII List of AbbreviationsIII Glossary of Irish TermsIV 1.Introduction1 1.1A brief history2 1.2Ireland: Basic facts5 1.2.1Political system6 1.2.2The peace process in Northern Ireland8 2.From European Community accession to the Maastricht Treaty9 2.1Ireland in the European Community10 2.1.1Ireland's economic performance in the EC11 2.1.2The Irish benefits from the EC12 2.2The Maastricht Treaty13 2.2.1From World War II to the Single European Act14 2.2.2The Single European Act15 2.2.3From the SEA to the Maastricht Treaty16 2.2.4The content of the Maastricht Treaty17 3.Ireland and the Maastricht Treaty19 3.1The Maastricht Treaty and Irish neutrality20 3.2Ireland and Structural Funds22 3.3Community Support Framework 1994-199923 3.3.1The four priorities of the 1994-1999 CSF26 3.3.2National Development Plan 1994-199929 3.4Ireland's attitude towards EMU30 3.5Irish fiscal policy 32 3.5.1The introduction of the single currency34 3.5.2Ireland and the single currency36 3.6The Irish economy37 3.6.1Economic performance in the mid-1990s37 3.6.2Challenges for the Irish economy 40 3.6.3Impacts of the single currency42 3.7EMU and public opinion 43 3.8Evaluation of the Maastricht Treaty47 4.Conclusion49 Bibliography53 Appendix57 For further information about the contents of this thesis we will be happy to send the abstract and a text sample to you free of charge and without obligation. Please send us an e-mail to [email protected] or a fax to ++49 (0)40 655 99 222 or call us at ++49 (0)40 655 99 20 and we will forward the requested documents to you as soon possible.

The national conflict in Ireland has created, and feeds off, sharply uneven development between the islandÃ?Â?Ã?Â-s north and south. This is reflected in a history of diverging socio-economic interests, conflicting ideological positions and divided institutions, which date back to the mid-nineteenth century. Since the 1950s this unevenness has been reversed, first through economic convergence, and with increasing intensity, through ideological and institutional reorientations. Integration in the European UnionÃ?Â?Ã?Â-s Ã?Â?Ã?«Single MarketÃ?Â?Ã?Â- has greatly accelerated this process, to the extent that the need for stronger north-south linkages has almost reached the status of conventional wisdom, north and south. Single Europe, Single Ireland? outlines this process of reversing uneven development providing an historical account of the conflict, emphasising its north-south dimensions. This gives an essential backdrop to discussions of socio-economic interests, party-political positions and state policies, north and south. Across these issue areas, the process of EU integration is linked to the wider process of convergence in Ireland. This is set against on-going divisions and divergences, leading to the conclusion in the book that North-South linkages require concerted state action and guidance.