Abstract
"To be Irish in 2006 is to be living through an unprecedented social experiment" (Holmquist 2006). This statement exemplifies the Irish economic performance in the 1990s. It puts an end to the years of high spending and taxes, an increasing inflation, low growth and soaring unemployment. Since 1993, the GDP averaged 9 percent annually (Mac Sharry et al. 2001 p119). Ireland became one of the few examples of "developed country [ies] with a growth record to match East Asia's" (Mac Sharry et al. 2001 p119). This economic turnaround arose thanks to the "combination of different factors at different times" (Mac Sharry et al. 2001 p119). Indeed, at the political level one can think about the governmental economic policies since 1987, which have strengthened the industrial competitiveness in Ireland to a great extent. Besides, the bargaining with the social partners and the compromise between the two main parliamentary parties played fundamental roles as well. Finally, the success of the Irish integration into the EU and the European Monetary Union constituted a key element to the apparition of the Celtic Tiger.
