Future far brighter than conventional ‘wisdom’

In the past couple of weeks, a Scotsman conquered the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.

That same week, a group of Welshmen formed the spine of a Lions rugby team that comprehensively beat the southern hemisphere’s Australia. During the past five years in golf, four Irishmen have broken through in world ranking Major championships.

These sporting episodes suggest the islands to the west of Europe have a capability often ignored in the debate about developing and developed economies. It has become common practice to talk up how the developing world is fast evolving as the centre of gravity in world economics.