Two The evolution of economic policy analysis in Ireland
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Clare O’Mahony
Abstract
This chapter traces the emergence of modern economic policy analysis in Ireland in the critical industrialisation drives in Ireland’s development path from independence in 1922 to joining the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.
At independence, Ireland was in political turmoil, having fought a war of independence and subsequently a civil war. The economy was underdeveloped and predominantly agricultural. Living standards were low and emigration was high. The overarching economic problem was job creation. In the early years of the new independent state, given the political climate, the government’s primary focus was on state building and the scope of economic policy was limited. From 1932, a change in government saw the state take a more interventionist role in the economy, adopting an isolationist, protectionist outlook and building economic self-sufficiency through import substitution industrialisation (ISI). This was only vaguely rooted in economic reasoning, founded more on nationalist sentiments than on solid economic analysis. There was a shift in both the use of economic policy analysis and in the approach towards industrialisation from 1948 with a reorientation to outward-looking policies and the encouragement of export-led industrialisation (ELI). This radical change was to transform the country from narrowly focused and insular to outward-looking and cosmopolitan.
Irish economic policy is shaped by the interaction of various stakeholders and interest groups, framed by the changing international environment. As a small, dependent, post-colonial economy, Ireland has always been subject to external influences but has limited bargaining power. This limits the scope of domestic policy making. Ireland’s protectionist period largely coincided with the rest of the world looking inwards, following the Great Depression during the 1930s.
Abstract
This chapter traces the emergence of modern economic policy analysis in Ireland in the critical industrialisation drives in Ireland’s development path from independence in 1922 to joining the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.
At independence, Ireland was in political turmoil, having fought a war of independence and subsequently a civil war. The economy was underdeveloped and predominantly agricultural. Living standards were low and emigration was high. The overarching economic problem was job creation. In the early years of the new independent state, given the political climate, the government’s primary focus was on state building and the scope of economic policy was limited. From 1932, a change in government saw the state take a more interventionist role in the economy, adopting an isolationist, protectionist outlook and building economic self-sufficiency through import substitution industrialisation (ISI). This was only vaguely rooted in economic reasoning, founded more on nationalist sentiments than on solid economic analysis. There was a shift in both the use of economic policy analysis and in the approach towards industrialisation from 1948 with a reorientation to outward-looking policies and the encouragement of export-led industrialisation (ELI). This radical change was to transform the country from narrowly focused and insular to outward-looking and cosmopolitan.
Irish economic policy is shaped by the interaction of various stakeholders and interest groups, framed by the changing international environment. As a small, dependent, post-colonial economy, Ireland has always been subject to external influences but has limited bargaining power. This limits the scope of domestic policy making. Ireland’s protectionist period largely coincided with the rest of the world looking inwards, following the Great Depression during the 1930s.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures, tables and boxes vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Notes on contributors xi
- Editors’ introduction to the seriesr xv
- Acknowledgements xvii
- Foreword xix
- Preface xxiii
- Contextualising policy analysis in Ireland 1
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History, styles and methods of policy analysis in Ireland
- The evolution of economic policy analysis in Ireland 19
- The evolution of social policy analysis in Ireland: from a theocentric to an econocentric paradigm? 33
- The changing policy analysis capacity of the Irish state 47
- Introducing evidence into policy making in Ireland 63
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Policy analysis at various levels of government: from local to the EU
- Ireland’s ‘unique blend’: local government and policy analysis 79
- Committees and the legislature 93
- Policy analysis in the civil service 107
- Europeanised policy making in Ireland 123
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Think tanks, interest groups, political parties and gender-based policy analysis
- The social partners and the NESC: from tripartite dialogue via common knowledge events to network knowledge 141
- Thinks tanks and their role in policy making in Ireland 157
- Civil society organizations and policy analysis 171
- Political parties and the policy process 187
- Gender expertise and policy analysis 203
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The public, science and the media: the wider policy analysis environment in Ireland
- Democratic innovations and policy analysis: climate policy and Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly (2016–18) 219
- Irish science policy: a case study in evidence-based policy design for small open economies 235
- Media discourses on the economy in Ireland: framing the policy possibilities 249
- Index 263
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures, tables and boxes vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Notes on contributors xi
- Editors’ introduction to the seriesr xv
- Acknowledgements xvii
- Foreword xix
- Preface xxiii
- Contextualising policy analysis in Ireland 1
-
History, styles and methods of policy analysis in Ireland
- The evolution of economic policy analysis in Ireland 19
- The evolution of social policy analysis in Ireland: from a theocentric to an econocentric paradigm? 33
- The changing policy analysis capacity of the Irish state 47
- Introducing evidence into policy making in Ireland 63
-
Policy analysis at various levels of government: from local to the EU
- Ireland’s ‘unique blend’: local government and policy analysis 79
- Committees and the legislature 93
- Policy analysis in the civil service 107
- Europeanised policy making in Ireland 123
-
Think tanks, interest groups, political parties and gender-based policy analysis
- The social partners and the NESC: from tripartite dialogue via common knowledge events to network knowledge 141
- Thinks tanks and their role in policy making in Ireland 157
- Civil society organizations and policy analysis 171
- Political parties and the policy process 187
- Gender expertise and policy analysis 203
-
The public, science and the media: the wider policy analysis environment in Ireland
- Democratic innovations and policy analysis: climate policy and Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly (2016–18) 219
- Irish science policy: a case study in evidence-based policy design for small open economies 235
- Media discourses on the economy in Ireland: framing the policy possibilities 249
- Index 263
