I think this is an interesting question, because if you remember, about 5 years ago everybody was talking about the "Dutch Miracle" and its challenge to the moribund economies of France and Germany.

Like the Irish story, the Dutch story was partly a combination of market-friendly reforms (of the labor market mostly) and social partnership to moderate wage demands.

But the Dutch boom, as Jerome has indicated elsewhere, was also driven by a property bubble, which has now burst, leading to an economic downturn, and people don't talk about the "Dutch miracle" so much anymore.

I wonder if something similar may be happening in Ireland. As the table indicates, its property market has been pretty frothy over the last decade or so: