Volume 1 of the Annual Competitiveness Report (ACR) benchmarks Ireland's performance across 140 key competitiveness indicators against 16 other countries. This report shows that in an overall context our economy continues to perform well in terms of improving living standards and quality of life. Ireland’s investment performance, tax environment and labour market also continue to perform well. However, there are a number of areas of concern. Productivity growth has slowed in recent years while Ireland has experienced a deterioration in its international price competitiveness. Deficits also persist in the quality of our infrastructure while our R&D and education performance is mixed.

The online version of the ACR includes an option to view the source data tables for all charts and graphs. Alternatively, you can download the report in PDF format using the links on the left.

Index

• Foreword by An Taoiseach
• Chairman's Preface
• 1. Overview of Ireland's Competitiveness
  • 1.1 Ireland’s Recent Economic Performance
  • 1.2 Ireland’s Trade Performance
  • 1.3 Productivity, Prices & Costs
  • 1.4 Drivers of Future Competitiveness
  • 1.5 Conclusions
  • 1.6 What Is This Report and How To Read It
• 2. Sustainable Growth
  • 2.1 National Income
  • 2.2 Quality of Life
  • 2.3 Environmental Sustainability
• 3. Essential Conditions
  • 3.1 Business Performance
    • 3.1.1 Investment
    • 3.1.2 Trade
  • 3.2 Productivity and Innovation
    • 3.2.1 Productivity
    • 3.2.2 Innovation
  • 3.3 Prices and Costs
    • 3.3.1 Prices
    • 3.3.2 Pay Costs
    • 3.3.3 Non-Pay Costs
  • 3.4 Labour Supply
    • 3.4.1 Overview
    • 3.4.2 Employment
    • 3.4.3 Labour Supply Characteristics
• 4. Policy Inputs
  • 4.1 Business Environment
    • 4.1.1 Taxation
    • 4.1.2 Regulation and Competition
    • 4.1.3 Labour Regulations
    • 4.1.4 Finance
    • 4.1.5 Social Capital
  • 4.2 Physical Infrastructure
    • 4.2.1 Investment in Physical Infrastructure
    • 4.2.2 Transport and Energy Infrastructure
    • 4.2.3 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
    • 4.2.4 Housing
  • 4.3 Knowledge Infrastructure
    • 4.3.1 Education: Overview
    • 4.3.2 Pre-Primary and Primary Education
    • 4.3.3 Secondary Education
    • 4.3.4 Tertiary Education and Life Long Learning
    • 4.3.5 Research and Development
• 5. Appendices
  • Appendix 1: ACR Data Sources
  • Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms
  • Appendix 3: NCC Publications

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