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Ireland’s Great Depression

Author

Listed:
  • Alan Ahearne

    (J. E. Cairnes Graduate School of Business and Public Policy, NUI Galway)

  • Finn Kydland

    (University of California Santa Barbara)

  • Mark A. Wynne

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

Abstract

We argue that Ireland experienced a great depression in the 1980s comparable in severity to the better known and more studied depression episodes of the interwar period. Using the business cycle accounting framework of Chari, Kehoe and McGrattan (2005), we examine the factors that led to the depression and the subsequent recovery in the 1990s. We calculate efficiency, labour, investment and government wedges and evaluate the contribution of each to the downturn and subsequent recovery. We find that the efficiency wedge on its own can account for a significant portion of the downturn, but predicts a stronger recovery in output than occurred. The labour wedge also helps account for what happened during the depression episode. We also find that the investment wedge played no role in the depression.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Ahearne & Finn Kydland & Mark A. Wynne, 2006. "Ireland’s Great Depression," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 37(2), pages 215-243.
    • Handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:37:y:2006:i:2:p:215-243
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barro, Robert J & Sahasakul, Chaipat, 1986. "Average Marginal Tax Rates from Social Security and the Individual Income Tax," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages 555-566, October.
    2. David Carey & Harry Tchilinguirian, 2000. "Average Effective Tax Rates on Capital, Labour and Consumption," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 258, OECD Publishing.
    3. Barro, Robert J & Sahasakul, Chaipat, 1983. "Measuring the Average Marginal Tax Rate from the Individual Income Tax," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 419-452, October.
    4. Balke, Nathan S. & Wynne, Mark A., 1995. "Are deep recessions followed by strong recoveries? Results for the G-7 countries," Working Papers 9509, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    5. Suparna Chakraborty, 2004. "Accounting for the 'Lost Decade' in Japan," Macroeconomics 0408009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jinghai Zheng, 2008. "On Chinese productivity studies," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 109-119.
    2. Renzo Orsi & Francesco Turino, 2014. "The last fifteen years of stagnation in Italy: a business cycle accounting perspective," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 469-494, September.
    3. Petre Caraiani, 2016. "Business Cycle Accounting for Peripheral European Economies," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(5), pages 468-496, November.
    4. Erasmus Kersting, 2008. "The 1980s Recession in the UK: A Business Cycle Accounting Perspective," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(1), pages 179-191, January.
    5. Roman Sustek, 2011. "Monetary Business Cycle Accounting," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(4), pages 592-612, October.
    6. Simona E. Cociuba & Alexander Ueberfeldt, 2008. "Driving Forces of the Canadian Economy: An Accounting Exercise," Staff Working Papers 08-14, Bank of Canada.
    7. Zheng, Jinghai & Bigsten, Arne & Hu, Angang, 2009. "Can China's Growth be Sustained? A Productivity Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 874-888, April.
    8. Brian Lucey & Charles Larkin, 2012. "Risk Tolerance and Demographic Characteristics: Preliminary Irish Evidence," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp406, IIIS.
    9. Hansen, G.D. & Ohanian, L.E., 2016. "Neoclassical Models in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, Elsevier.

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