Description
Book SynopsisIn international commentary and debate on the effects of the Great Recession and austerity, Ireland has been hailed as the poster child for economic recovery and regeneration out of deep economic and fiscal contraction. While the genesis of Ireland''s financial, economic, and fiscal crisis has been covered in the literature, no systematic analysis has yet been devoted to the period of austerity, to the impact of austerity on institutions and people, or to the roots of economic recovery. In this book a group of Ireland''s leading social scientists present a multidisciplinary analysis of recession and austerity and their effects on economic, business, political, and social life. Individual chapters discuss the fiscal and economic policies implemented, the role of international, and, in particular, of EU institutions, and the effects on businesses, consumption, work, the labour market, migration, political and financial institutions, social inequality and cohesion, housing, and cultural expression. The book shows that Ireland cannot be viewed uncritically as a poster child for austerity. While fiscal contraction provided a basis for stabilizing the perilous finances of the state, economic recovery was due in the main to the long-established structure of Irish economic and business activity, to the importance of foreign direct investment and the dynamic export sector, and to recovery in the international economy. The restructuring and recovery of the financial system was aided by favourable international developments, including historically low interest rates and quantitative easing. Migration flows, nominal wage stability, the protection of social transfer payments, and the involvement of trade unions in severe public sector retrenchment - long-established features of Irish political economy - were of critical importance in the maintenance of social cohesion.
Trade ReviewThe many strands of ruin and gradual but not complete recovery are dealt with in a style that is both scholarly and accessible. This richness makes it the best overall single-volume assessment of our recent political and social experience. * Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, The Irish Times *
Table of Contents1: William K. Roche, Philip O'Connell, and Andrea Prothero: Introduction 'Poster Child' or 'Beautiful Freak'?: Austerity and Recovery in Ireland 2: Seán Ó Riain: The Road to Austerity 3: Stephen Kinsella: Economic and Fiscal Policy 4: Frank Barry and Adele Bergin: Business 5: Gregory Connor, Thomas Flavin, and Brian O'Kelly: The Financial Sector 6: Blanaid Clarke: Banking Regulation 7: Marius C. Claudy, Andrew Keating, and Andrea Prothero: Consumption 8: Paul Teague: Ireland and the 'GIPS' Countries 9: David M. Farrell: Political Reform 10: Brigid Laffan: International Actors and Agencies 11: William K. Roche: Workplaces 12: Richard Boyle: Public Service Reform 13: Philip J. O'Connell: Unemployment and Labour Market Policy 14: Kathleen Lynch, Sarah Cantillon, and Margaret Crean: Inequality 15: Rob Kitchin, Rory Hearne, and Cian O'Callaghan: Housing 16: Irial Glynn and Philip J. O'Connell: Migration 17: Donald Taylor Black: Culture Index
