Five charts to start your day
Ireland versus the United Kingdom
Here’s an interesting chart from World of Statistics. It’s Ireland versus Britain. Ireland, the Celtic Tiger, boasts a GDP per capita that would make Croesus blush: a staggering $103,685, more than double its larger neighbour' the United Kingdom at $48,867.
However, if you dig a little deeper, Ireland’s workers only pocket a mere 30.6 percent of this GDP, while their British counterparts claim a heftier 59 percent slice of a much larger pie.
Ireland's meteoric rise owes much to its role as a corporate tax paradise, luring tech giants and pharma behemoths to its shores.
The result? A GDP figure inflated by accounting gymnastics and profit-shifting, creating a statistical mirage of prosperity. Meanwhile, across the Irish Sea, Brexit-battered Britain grapples with stagnant wages and a cost-of-living crisis. Its more diversified economy has struggled to find its footing in a post-EU world.
The lessons are clear: GDP per capita, that darling of economists, can be a fickle friend. Ireland's dual economy – a thriving multinational sector alongside struggling domestic industries – highlights the perils of chasing headline figures at the expense of balanced growth. For Britain, a higher labour share offers cold comfort amidst broader economic malaise.
Both nations face challenges, but GDP data from the UK seems more grounded in reality.
Source: World with Statistic
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