Front Matter Page
© 2004 International Monetary Fund
November 2004
IMF Country Report No. 04/349
Ireland: Selected Issues
The Selected Issues paper for Ireland was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on September 22, 2004. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government of Ireland or the Executive Board of the IMF.
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Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
IRELAND
Selected Issues
Prepared by Keiko Honjo, Benjamin Hunt, Petya Koeva, and Marialuz Moreno Badia (all EUR)
Approved by European Department
September 22, 2004
Contents
I. Potential Growth After the Boom
A. Introduction
B. Decomposing Past Output Growth
C. Aggregating Future Output Growth
D. Concluding Remarks
References
Figures
I.1 Factors Explaining Average Hours
Tables
I.1 Average Annual Growth Rate of GDP per Capita
I.2 Population Estimates
I.3 Decomposition of Potential Growth
II. Adjustment in the Housing Market
A. Introduction
B. The Irish Boom in Context
C. Analytical Evidence
D. Descriptive Evidence
E. Concluding Remarks
References
Figures
II.1 Demographics
II.2 Housing Supply
Tables
II.1 Financial Market Liberalization in Ireland
II.2 Housing Taxes in European Countries (2001)
II.3 Maximum Loan to Value Ratio
III. The Competitiveness of Irish Manufacturing: An Update
A. Introduction
B. Employment-weighted Real Effective Exchange Rate
C. Conclusion
References
IV. The role of Social Partnership Agreements in Ireland: Contributing to the boom and facilitating adjustment to sustainable growth
A. Introduction
B. Social Partnership Agreements
C. The Contribution of Social Partnership Agreements
D. The Challenges To Come
E. The Social Partnership Process Going Forward
F. Conclusions
References
Boxes
IV.1 The Social Partnership Agreements
IV.2 The Partners Participating and the Coverage of Sustaining Progress 2003–05
Figures
IV.1 Wage and Capital Shares in Business Sector Output
IV.2 Cross Country Comparison
Tables
IV.1 Number of Disputes and Work Days Lost