Suchergebnisse

This paper surveys independent Ireland's economic policies and performance. It has three main messages. First, the economic history of post-independence Ireland was not particularly unusual. Very often, things that were happening in Ireland were happening elsewhere as well. Second, for a long time we were hampered by an excessive dependence on a poorly performing UK economy. And third, EC membership in 1973, and the Single Market programme of the late 1980s and early 1990s, were absolutely crucial for us. Irish independence and EU membership have complemented each other, rather than being in conflict: each was required to give full effect to the other. Irish independence would not have worked as well for us as it did without the EU; and the EU would not have worked as well for us as it did without political independence.

The article examines Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey's The Rise of Free Trade (1997), a collection of speeches, contemporary writing, & the Parliamentary debates on British trade policy in the 19th century. The collection examines the Repeal of the Corn Laws & why voters decided such. The main argument for this free trade move was that if the taxes were left in place, real wages would suffer. While this was true for GB at the time, it was not true in France & other European countries. This is a good example that there is no one perfect model that does not change with time & circumstance. 1 Figure, 23 References. R. Larsen

The article quantifies the impact of cheap grain on the European economy in the late nineteenth century. Falling transport costs led to dramatic declines in Anglo-American grain price gaps, but price convergence was less impressive between the U.S. and other European economies, and within Europe. Cheaper grain meant lower rents throughout Europe, and protection boosted rents, but the magnitudes involved differed between countries. Similarly, cheap grain increased real wages in Britain, but lowered them elsewhere. The grain invasion implied different shocks across countries, and this partly explains the varying trade policies pursued in Europe during this period.