Most Irish historians agree that the southern Irish economy performed very badly between the 1920 and the early 1960s; indeed output and incomes had grown so little in those decades that the economic benefits of political independence were far from obvious. There is less consensus about economic performance since then, though the ability of the South to sustain a significant population increase for the first time since the Great Famine may reflect relative success. This volume critically re-examines the claims and counter-claims using new data and adopting a comparative perspective, pro-viding a comprehensive narrative for an Irish as well as a wider audience. Assuming only a basic understanding of economic and statistical theory, the volume has been written mainly with an undergraduate audience in mind. However, in its use of new archival evidence in the analysis of policy-making it will also appeal to political scientists and historians.

