ABSTRACT
The 1990s has been a remarkable decade in the history of economic development in Ireland. Unprecedented rates of growth over most of the decade have lead to a rapid convergence in per capita levels of gross national product (GNP) from just under 60 percent of the EU average (when measured at purchasing power parity rates) in the late 1980s to approximately 90 percent in 1998. This dramatic performance has attracted much international attention (Gray, 1997) which has given currency to the label “Celtic Tiger”, and also some critical assessment from local analysts (Crowley and MacLaughlin, 1997; Sweeney, 1998).
