The Celtic Tiger to be emulated in Arizona – Because the World is Flat, the State must think global & The other side of the story: "Sunset on the Liffey?"

A few months ago this newspaper carried articles from fellow Arizonans who had just returned from a visit to Ireland and were appropriately impressed by the "Celtic Tiger."

In the past 15 years Ireland grew its economy from 69 percent of the European Communities per capita income GNP to 136 percent. Its unemployment went from 17 percent to 4 percent, government debt declined 75 percent, and most importantly, the country enjoyed a decade of annual growth of 6 percent.

How did the Irish do it? They married four ingredients:

• Significant investments in higher education, particularly in math, science and engineering.

• Targeted tax cuts focused on technology investments.

• State supported venture capital funds.

• And a three-way consortium of industry, labor and government to clear roadblocks and map strategy.

Today, Ireland has nine of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, 630 software firms, 13 of the top 20 medical-device firms, and all five of the top computer manufacturing firms investing in Ireland-based operations and plants.

And while Ireland is attention-grabbing, it is not alone at the front of the new global economic competition. Similar strategies are in place in Singapore; Vancouver, British Columbia; Bangalore, India; and elsewhere. Arizona is competing on a world stage and against a lower-cost stage, at that.

Fred DuVal and Steve Roman
Special for The Republic

Full Story: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/1204duval1204.html

The End of the Rainbow- The Success of the Irish Economy – Education http://www.matr.net/article-15147.html

New Enterprise Ireland Strategies http://www.matr.net/article-14782.html

Ireland president visits Seattle on trade mission "We had no natural resources but the brainpower of our people. That’s where the investment was made." http://www.matr.net/article-14746.html

Montana businesses report success on European trip organzied by the Montana World Trade Center at the University of Montana http://www.matr.net/article-15243.html

Montana World Trade Center Seeks Companies for European Trade Mission July 2-10 http://www.matr.net/article-14253.html

Montana World Trade Center Luncheon on 2/21 Promotes Links with Ireland Montana World Trade Center Luncheon on 2/21 Promotes Links with Ireland

World trade center helps company sell in Europe – Montana Hot Tubs to Ireland?? http://www.matr.net/article-14161.html

State Department official touts benefits of doing business in Ireland http://www.matr.net/article-13790.html

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Sunset on the Liffey?

Europe’s ‘Celtic tiger’ still roars. But some fear the much-lauded Irish miracle may be losing its bite.

Beautiful, yes. But like all of Ireland, Dublin is paying a price for success.

By William Underhill
Newsweek International

Ireland has a new hero. he’s beaky, bespectacled and made his career in the unfashionable world of personal finance. But Eddie Hobbs has found a way to the nation’s heart—through its pocketbook. His TV investigation into Ireland’s high-priced culture, "Rip-Off Republic," attracted record-breaking audiences for its final show last month. His how-to guide to handling personal debt is a national best seller. In him the hard-pressed Irish consumer has found a champion.

A hard-pressed consumer in Ireland? Wasn’t this the great turnaround economy where a chronically cash-strapped work force now ranks among the best-paid in the world? Hobbs paints a different picture: a country where prices are often the highest in Europe, vested interests rule and the income gap between rich and poor has never been so wide. "In the last 10 years there’s been a lot of media spin about what a wonderful country we were all living in. But that wasn’t what people were experiencing," says Hobbs. Yes, Ireland is arisen from the potato fields of yore to become an economic and high-tech powerhouse. Yes, most Irish live better than at any time in history. Yet while much has changed in the new Ireland, much has not. "We have become a modern economy," says Hobbs. "That doesn’t mean we have become a modern society."

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9785602/site/newsweek

(Thanks to Shawn Skinner of Felco Industries for passing this interesting story along. Russ)

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Lowest-paid workers failed by tech boom

By Mark Schwanhausser

Mercury News

Although the high-tech boom helped make the Bay Area one of the wealthiest regions in the nation, its “rising tide” failed to lift the boats of low-wage workers as much as others, a study released Monday says.

Over the past 25 years, the pay gap between the Bay Area’s haves and have-nots has grown markedly, with high-wage workers pocketing more than three times more pay in 2004. After adjusting for inflation, lower-wage workers actually have lost purchasing power.

“We have often heard that economic growth is the solution to poverty,” said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project. “Clearly what we found is that wasn’t the case in the boom in the Bay Area — and it was a boom of almost unprecedented magnitude.”

Full Story: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13395795.htm