Rural areas cannot be abandoned in recovery
In the aggregate, most economic indicators are showing marked signs of improvement, and we are also seeing a number of economic forecasters fighting to be more positive about growth prospects than the other. After six incredibly difficult years, this does represent good news, but unfortunately it is clear that the various aggregate economic statistics are hiding some ominous trends, particularly the death of rural Ireland.
As I travel around the country, speaking to different audiences, I tend to get either bland or incredulous looks from people as I present graphs showing employment growth, consumer spending growth, and other positive indicators. The reason for this is that the aggregate statistics are very heavily influenced by the economy of the greater Dublin area, which accounts for over 40% of the national economy in terms of economy activity.
