This book explores the complex developments that have shaped Ireland's
economic development, north and south, and led to recurring crises and
instability. The Irish economy has been traditionally portrayed as a
product of its political divisions and the colonial legacy, divided and
analysed in terms of the hegemonic tensions that exist on the island.
Influenced by these divisions, academics have tended to look at a
two-region approach to economic development, without adequately
acknowledging the interactive nature of the island economy as a source
of the crises or as a solution to systemic divergence. McCann's
definitive and dynamic history of the Irish economy circumvents
conventional analyses and investigates the economic development of the
island economy as a whole, highlighting where aggressive differentiation
has been divisive and destabilising. He concludes by considering an
alternative integrated and cohesive process of economic development.