CSO unveils new growth measure to avoid 'leprechaun economics' jibe

The CSO plans to develop a new measure of economic growth which is designed to defuse the “leprechaun economics” jibe Ireland faced when revised GDP figures portrayed the economy surging at a rate of over 26%

The proposed new measure, called Adjusted Gross National Income, or “GNI*”, will help bring greater insight into the workings of the economy because the scale of activity by multinationals is so large that GDP and even the once-favoured GNP measures hugely exaggerate the true level of the economy here.

Under revisions announced last summer, the CSO was forced to upgrade 2015 Irish GDP growth to 26.3%, which drew the jibe of “leprechaun economics” from international economist Paul Krugman.