www.irishtimes.com
Sharp Shock, Slow Recovery
THE MOST striking aspect of the current economic downturn has been the speed at which activity has decelerated. The economy was running relatively smoothly during 2007, with real Gross National Product (GNP) increasing by 4.1 per cent. But in the space of a few short months, it has lurched to a halt. The continuing downward revisions to the country's growth prospects for this year and next by the leading institutional economic forecasters bear witness to the alarming speed at which the outlook for the economy has changed.
The Central Bank, in its quarterly bulletin published yesterday, has cut its forecast growth rate for the economy this year from 1.9 per cent in March to just 0.3 per cent. In so doing, it is following in the footsteps of both the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Department of Finance, both of which have recently revised downwards their expectations for economic performance in the current year.
No comments:
Post a Comment