SCOIL SHAMHRAIDH AGUS SEACHTAIN EALAINE MHIC A GHOILL 2009
GLENTIES, COUNTY DONEGAL
JULY 19TH---FRIDAY, JULY 24TH
Theme : THE IRISH ECONOMY-WHAT WENT WRONG?-HOW WILL WE FIX IT?
 Click to Watch Webcasts of Lectures/Debates
Click to download Brochure 2009
The tradition of the MacGill Summer School, now in its 29th year, is to provide a place for invigorating discussion and reflection on topics relevant to modern Ireland. Our current economic crisis is the only realistic theme suited for this year. After a long boom, the era of phenomenal economic growth is over. Consumer confidence is plummeting, the budget deficit growing, unemployment increasing and house prices falling. There are widespread fears about an impaired financial system, improperly functioning infrastructure and insufficient safeguards for the most vulnerable. Improved living standards depend on raising incomes and providing quality employment through high productivity and a healthy export sector. Yet productivity growth rates are slowing, the cost base is rising and the exchange rate deteriorating. This is resulting in a worrying erosion in competitiveness.
A complex relationship exists between national well-being, research, innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Ireland is entering a new development phase, from a focus on inward investment to innovation, perceived as the key new driver of growth. The Government is devoting huge resources to scientific research, acknowledging that those factors which drove the boom such as low corporate tax rates and an educated workforce, will not ensure future competitiveness. Its framework document for economic renewal, Building Ireland's Smart Economy, accepts that in a globalised digital age, economic success is largely determined by intangibles such as imagination, creativity and ideas. The emphasis is on collaborative processes, teamwork and open innovation. Competitive success in IT or internationally traded services depends on resources largely founded on human and social capital. With a greater commitment to indigenous industry, particularly in high value-added services, Ireland has the potential to develop a culture full of innovative and entrepreneurial vitality.
While attracting foreign investment remains important, Ireland can no longer depend on a low cost base to attract large manufacturing projects. Since borders define less and less the limits of companies' practices, the country must identify where its competitive advantage lies, how this differs from its competitors and what inimitable capabilities it possesses. The challenge is to identify the specific contribution it can make to a company's worldwide operations, and specialising in relatively immobile resources. By concentrating on greater complexity in products and services, Ireland's distinct capabilities can add the most value.
Yet a society is more than an economy. A higher GNP means an economy is growing, but this does not necessarily mean the quality of life is improving. Economic statistics present, at best, only a partial picture of the health of a society, which depends on how people feel about each other and their commitment to a common purpose. Economic performance is not a good indicator of welfare and takes no account of the distribution of income. Real progress come from shared prosperity, so large disparities in income or perceived inequalities in opportunities for advancement do not foster innovation. A common criticism is that the boom did not disperse its benefits equally. Critics claim the well off got richer while the poor were left behind, and the numbers living at the margins of society continued to grow.
In the space of a generation or two, Ireland has moved from an agrarian to a post-industrial society. Such economic success was not achieved without cost. In the headlong pursuit of prosperity, there have been negative impacts on the natural environment, a sense of community, and the social and cultural fabric of the nation. Fundamentally changed circumstances now require a radical transformation in the development model. A different approach to policy-making is essential, founded on harnessing national innovative capability, social cohesion, proper regulatory overview and a strong moral ethic. The potential of a small nation like Ireland lies in an ability to act in a coherent fashion, successfully combining the benefits of global markets with local relationships based on quality, integrity and a sense of belonging. This year's MacGill Summer School provides the ideal forum to discuss how our potential as a country can be harnessed to combine a competitive proposition internationally with a sustainable and successful society at home.
- Dr. Finbarr Bradley, co-author
Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference (Blackhall Publishing, Dublin, 2008)
read more >>
|
