A road not taken? Economic ideology and the articulation of policy alternatives in Irish state economic policymaking, 1948–58

Abstract

In the midst of a seemingly unending economic crisis, the period 1948–58 saw a dramatic expansion of fiscal policy in Ireland. T. K. Whitaker’s Economic Development is traditionally represented as a landmark departure behind this change from traditional Department of Finance thinking and political inertia, propelled by the perceived Keynesian ideas of his fellow younger economists. However, by assessing the policy positions each actor adopted during major economic events of the period, this study argues that Whitaker’s economic outlook largely aligned with Finance’s, and that Economic Development must be viewed in large part as a reaction to the pre-existing fiscal commitments of the public capital programme. In tandem, it concludes that although the influential younger economists of the period are sometimes described as expansionist Keynesians – such as Patrick Lynch, who in the early part of the decade spearheaded Keynesian-type initiatives such as the capital budget principle – by mid decade their views aligned with the more classical economic outlook of the Department of Finance.

Keywords

• economic policy
• fiscal policy
• keynesianism
• economic crisis
• ireland