The Celtic Tiger

Ireland is now most notably known for its economic boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, an era reffered to as The Celtic Tiger. During this time period, the Irish Economy became more open to the global markets, lowered tax rates to 12.5% (more profit for the economy), and focused greatly on investment in education (creating competitive and relatively affordable university education systems). By 2006, because of these increasing economic growths, population numbers increased by at least 15% between 1996 to 2005, which was all influenced by the thousands of people immigrating to Ireland for more job and work opportunities. Because Ireland had this social and economic advantage, employment rates increased by 5%, keeping this pace for nearly 5 years into the future. The unemployment rates ranged around 4.4%, which was a tiny bit lower compared to the United States with 4.6%- this was seen as a success, as Ireland was always struggling with economy problems before, unlike the United States, who was constantly improving. Thanks to The Celtic Tiger, Ireland surpassed the United Stated economically and immediately attracted the attention of millions of people from other countries during the 2000s. Now, Ireland transformed from one of the most poorest countries in all of Europe, to one of the wealthiest, pretty much in the blink of an eye. This was by far one of the best things that has ever happened to Ireland in all of history!

However, by 2007, Ireland began to face struggles again, marking a dramatic economic downfall by 2008. Europe stepped into a financial crisis, along with other countries around the world, hurting Ireland's economy greatly. Ireland's rising prices and over-reliance on industries for jobs and tax breaks were some of the major causes of the downfall of The Celtic Tiger, along with the world-wide banking scandals. The bank crisis was one of the most evident problems that led to this issue... Banks were loaning too much money to the people living in Ireland, which was mostly everyone, eventually making it hard for the individuals to pay back what they borrowed. This created a major problem, and in order fix some of these issues, the government stepped in; however, this action just made things worse- the economy dug an even deeper hole concerning the crisis that was already happening. The banking crisis started with the inviduals, dragging in the banks and the government later on (the Anglo-Irish Bank was one of the most struck banks in the nation), and in the end, it ended up in the hands of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), as well as the European Union. Ireland's economy evolved from a small-scale problem to an enourmously large-scale crisis, creating problems all over the nation. Northwest Ireland was most effected, as the property sale prices decreased and houses were being built more often. In addition, gas prices increased by a whopping 270% and unemployment rates increased greatly, making it hard for day-to-day tasks in society. Ireland's unemployment rates today are about 14.2%, compared to the 8.3% of the United States- imagine our financial crisis now... times two!... Ireland, by far, faced one of the greatest economic hardships in the world!

My three curiosities about the Irish and/or International economy...
1) How much does our country's debt effect other economies around the world?
2) Will Ireland's economy ever be like it was during the Celtic Tiger? How will it do that?
3) What will happen if huge economies fail in Europe? How will it affect us?