What is the economic system of Ireland? The economy of Ireland is based on a mixed economy, that resembles a market economy. The country’s economic system combines elements of a market economy and a planned economy, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please.
In Ireland, the economy is composed of a private sector, consisting of individuals and businesses that make autonomous decisions based on self-interest, and a public sector, where the state determines the production and distribution of certain goods and services. No country is purely capitalist or purely communist.
What do the freedom indexes tell about the economic system of Ireland?
To determine if a country is mostly a market economy or a planned economy, it is useful to examine some economic indexes. For instance, according to the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom, which measures the ability of every human to control his labor and property, Ireland is ranked 3rd globally and 2nd in Europe indicating that the country has a free economy.
Similarly, the 2022 Freedom House index evaluates the state of political rights and civil liberties globally. Generally, market economies tend to align more with democracy and freedom, while command economies tend to be characterized by greater state control and fewer democratic and civil liberty protections. Ireland gets a score of 97/100, which qualifies it as Free. Ireland is a country where the government does not control what people do for political reasons, and people have the freedom to choose (what, how much, and how to produce, whether to buy or not, selling price, etc.)
The Link Between Public Sector Employment and the Economic System of Ireland
An indicator of the extent to which the State is involved in the economy is the number of public sector employees. In Ireland, according to ILOSTAT, the number of public sector employees as a percentage of the total workforce is 21.9% (2019).In the country, the public sector tends to be small and efficient. As result, the number of public sector employees as a percentage of the total workforce is low compared to other countries.
What does the biggest company in Ireland say about the country’s economic system
The biggest company in Ireland should also be looked at, as well as whether it is a state-owned or private company. In this case, Accenture is a private multinational professional services company. As a publicly traded company (NYSE: ACN), its ownership is distributed among numerous shareholders, including institutional investors, individual investors, and other entities.
More: Top 10 Biggest companies by revenue in Ireland
The historical factors that have influenced the economic system of Ireland
The current mixed economy system of Ireland in the last century was caused by a combination of factors, including the country’s colonial history, its access to global markets, and its commitment to free-market principles. Ireland’s colonial history left it with a legacy of economic inequality and a lack of economic diversification.
Its access to global markets allowed it to benefit from increased trade and investment, while its commitment to free-market principles enabled it to attract foreign direct investment. These factors combined to create the current mixed economy system of Ireland.
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