Abstract:
Ireland’s willingness to put in place policies to bolster competitiveness and take advantage of trade and financial globalisation contributed to rapid real convergence over the two decades leading up to the global crisis. But in part because of the speed of catch-up, there was much less done to protect against the economy’s increasing vulnerability to downturns in trade and financial globalisation. The economy is entering its fifth year of recovery but challenges to the business model remain. The case for development of a long term policy package aimed at smoothing cycles is strong.

Speaker Biography:
Gillian Edgeworth, a senior member of St Antony’s College, is Chief European Emerging Market Economist at Unicredit Bank. She joined the bank in September 2010 and is responsible for economic analysis of regional economies ranging from Turkey, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary to smaller countries such as Latvia, Kazakhstan and Serbia, as well as recent EMU entrants such as Estonia and Slovakia. She is also covers developments in Ireland and Greece. Prior to joining Unicredit, she spent 8 years as a member of the economics team at Deutsche Bank, responsible for coverage of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltics, Greece and Ireland.

Chair & Convenor:
Charles Enoch (St Antony’s College, Oxford)