The national accounts for Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Abstract

This paper assesses the extent and quality of historical national accounts for Ireland and suggests priorities for their improvement. The available indicators are used to illustrate long-term trends in the Irish economy in comparison with other small Western European countries. It is argued that the way in which national accounts entities varied in the course of Ireland's unique demographic experience over the last 200 years may have a wider interest in analysing patterns of national and regional economic growth in other countries.