bosstrabs but GDP per capita is income per capita
It’s not reflective of what the man on the street is actually taking home as income. In the context of what you were discussing that seems the most pertinent point.
bosstrabs GPD being the most common measure of national income
Ireland’s GDP is not even really what Ireland takes in as income. I’ll re-state the point - about 1/3rd of what is included as GDP, or “income” in Ireland never actually exists in Ireland. It’s a mirage. An anomaly. A major flaw in the GDP calculation which almost uniquely affects Ireland. A by-product of accounting tricks by companies who book “income” in Ireland in name only, but not in actuality.
Pointing to Ireland’s GDP as a genuine indicator of something is utterly daft and shows you haven’t understood the point.
It’s worth reading the full article below, which explains the issue fully. But I’ll post some extracts:
https://democracychallenged.com/2025/05/14/irelands-phantom-prosperity-the-gdp-mirage-and-the-real-economy/
"Ireland’s economic success story is, on the surface, dazzling. The country’s GDP — the broadest measure of economic activity — reached €510 billion in 2023, making it one of the richest countries in the world on a per capita basis. But behind the headlines lies a very different reality, one that looks far less prosperous for Irish workers, households, and local businesses.
The key to understanding this disconnect is a number few outside Ireland pay attention to: Modified Gross National Income, or GNI. Unlike GDP, which counts all activity happening within Ireland’s borders, GNI adjusts for the distortions caused by the huge presence of foreign multinationals. And the gap is enormous. In 2023, GNI* was just €291 billion — meaning more than €219 billion of Ireland’s reported output never truly flowed into the Irish economy at all."
“The picture is made even more misleading by the way Ireland’s GDP is measured. GDP counts all the revenues booked by companies in Ireland but doesn’t deduct important costs like the depreciation of intellectual property or the royalties these companies pay to their foreign parents. These are huge sums that leave Ireland each year, yet they don’t show up in the GDP figures. The result is a national accounts framework that flatters the scale of Ireland’s economy while masking the extent to which income is drained out”.
Another article on the subject:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ireland-gdp-growth-multinationals-misleading/
"Multinationals make Ireland’s GDP growth ‘clearly misleading’
Employing GNI* and adjusting for higher Irish prices, Honohan finds that Ireland comes only 12th in EU prosperity. Its economic activity per head of population falls behind the U.K., the Nordics, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and — as always — Luxembourg."
