Ireland’s Malaise: The Troubled Personality of the Irish Economy

This provocative book by the former Chief Economist at the Central Bank argues that relying on conventional economics will not rescue Ireland from its current crisis, and that only through a deep understanding of Ireland’s culture and economic ‘personality’ can we start on the road to recovery. Michael Casey shows that Ireland is a dramatic case of an economy which is dominated by cultural and historical baggage which affects how we do business, consume, invest, work, run the public sector and govern ourselves. Who we are as a people determines how the economy performs, not econometric models. A fundamental question relates to Ireland’s entrepreneurial culture. Do enough Irish business people have the innate ability and confidence to create successful new enterprises, or will we forever rely on the multinational companies to do it for us? Do our politicians and public officials understand what it takes to right the sinking ship? Do they have the requisite entrepreneurial skills and mindset required? Answers to these and other questions will determine how Ireland can recover from recession and grow the economy over time. In Ireland’s Malaise , Michael Casey presents his own economic projection for the next two decades, and offers radical reforms for improving economic performance including how to develop entrepreneurs, enhance competitiveness, unleash the Irish consumer, reform government and the public sector, improve fairness and equity and, above all, overcome our ingrained reluctance to change. As Casey concludes, ‘the choice is ours’.