Friday, December 13, 2013

Ireland: Gentrification of a Nation

Time to dump the conversation about gentrification at Pacific Standard magazine.

Theme: Economic dislocation and forced migration.

Subject Article: "Irish exodus casts shadow on recovery from financial crisis."

Other Links: 1. "Were Jews Political Refugees or Economic Migrants? Assessing the Persecution Theory of Jewish Emigration, 1881-1914."

Postscript: To extend the metaphor of Irish emigration as gentrification, global talent displacing native workers:

"If you look at why multinationals came to Ireland before the crisis, they came for a number of reasons," said Barry O'Leary, the Industrial Development Agency's (IDA) chief executive.

"The things that they came for were not affected when the international financial crisis hit," he told AFP.

For foreign-born software developers, there was no financial crisis in Ireland. They can pick the nicest flat in the city. Competition for local real estate is a mismatch between tradable skills and labor (usually construction) concentrated in non-tradable industries. If you want work and a place to live, then you must leave home.

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