POLITICS & SOCIETYSEÁN Ó RIAIN
The Flexible De elopmen al S a e:
Globaliza ion, In o ma ion Technology,
and he “Cel ic Tige ”
SEÁN Ó RIAIN
REMAKING THE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE
Fo a numbe o yea s, commen a o s ha e looked o he “de elopmen al
s a es” o Eas Asia as a coun e weigh agains he o ces o economic globaliza-
ion. These s a es ha e been seen as cause o hope ha na ions could p omo e
economic de elopmen , e en om a subo dina e posi ion in he in e na ional
di ision o labo . Un il he 1990s, his de elopmen al s a e p esided o e one o
he mos spec acula economic success s o ies o his cen u y, while o he econo-
mies(e.g.,inLa inAme icaand heEu opeanpe iphe y)languished,o enasli -
le mo e han expo pla o ms.1
In he 1990s, howe e , he de elopmen al s a e seemed o ha e had i s day in
hesun. The Japanese andKo ean s a es appea ed oo in lexible ocope wi h ap-
idly changing in o ma ional indus ies and decen alized “pos -Fo dis ” indus-
ials uc u es.Ko eanandJapanese i ms anin oinc easingdi icul ies h ough
he 1990s in apidly changing high- echnology ma ke s. The de elopmen al
s a esalsoappea ed ooweak omanage heinc easinglyin e na ionalizedecono-
mies o e which hey p esided, as e idenced in he inancial c isis o 1997 and
1998.2Theeme genceo lexible egionaleconomiesanddispe sed ansna ional
ne wo kso echnologyand inanceappea ed oha esimul aneouslyunde mined
he de elopmen al s a e om below and om abo e.
Many hanks o Ge ald Au le , Ted Egan, Michael Bu awoy, Pe e E ans, Séamus G imes, Becky
King, Seán Ó Foghlú, Denis O’Hea n, Balaji Pa hasa a hy, Bill Roche, Anno Saxenian, And ew
Sch ank,Ka hleenSchwa zman,JohnS e ne,Ma Zook,and hePoli ics&Socie yedi o ialboa d.
POLITICS & SOCIETY, Vol. 28 No. 2, June 2000 157-193
© 2000 Sage Publica ions, Inc.
157
Howe e , a di e en se o coun ies has eme ged in he 1990s ha appea
likely candida es o mobili y in he hie a chy o he in e na ional economy. The
Republic o I eland is among hose economies ha ha e begun o change hei
ela ion o he global economy based on g owing s eng hs in in o ma ion ech-
nology(IT)indus ies.Economicg ow h a esinI eland3ha eimp o edd ama i-
cally since he economically and socially disas ous 1980s and ha e been among
he mos apid in he wo ld in he mid-1990s. The e has been a signi ican
imp o emen in expo pe o mance, and domes ic demand has inc eased since
1994a e hemassunemploymen andemig a iono he1980sand hecau iono
he ea ly 1990s. Consume p ices, despi e some in la iona y p essu es in ecen
yea s, ha e isen slowly. All o he abo e indica o s compa e a o ably wi h he
pe o manceo o he leadingeconomiesin heO ganiza ion o EconomicCoop-
e a ion and De elopmen (OECD), including e en compa a i ely “success ul”
economies such as he Uni ed S a es, he Ne he lands, and e en he Asian Tige s
in he 1990s.4Fu he mo e, he “jobless g ow h” o ea lie decades has been
eplaced by he highes a e o employmen g ow h and he highes p opo ion o
he popula ion employed in he his o y o he s a e. The mass emig a ion o he
1980s has gi en way o a subs an ial ne in low o mig an s, la gely consis ing o
emig an s e u ning o I eland bu also including non-I ish-bo n immig an s.
Unemploymen has allenmo eslowlybu has ecen ly eached i slowes le elin
se en een yea s.
G ow h in I eland is d i en no jus by o eign in es men bu by wo ela-
i ely dis inc modes o in eg a ion in o he global economy— he pa ial local
embedding o global co po a e ne wo ks and he inc easingly success ul in e-
g a ion o local ne wo ks o indigenous i ms in o global business and echnol-
ogy ne wo ks. These wo globaliza ions a e u he embedded wi hin a se o
na ional neoco po a is ins i u ions ha ha e managed he ela ion o he global
economy o bo h he mac o economy and o unionized wo ke s. Since 1987, a
se ies o na ional “social pa ne ship” ag eemen s ha e nego ia ed wage
es ain , public spending limi s, and some e o s o b idge social exclusion a
he local le el.
The mos e ec i e de elopmen al s a es o he 1990s ha e been ans o med
om he bu eauc a ic models ha cha ac e ized he Eas Asian economies o he
lexible e sions we ind in economies such as I eland and Is ael. The lexible
de elopmen al s a e (FDS) is de ined by i s abili y o nu u e pos -Fo dis ne -
wo ks o p oduc ion and inno a ion, o a ac in e na ional in es men , and o
link hese local and global echnology and business ne wo ks oge he in ways
ha p omo e de elopmen . This abili y is sus ained by he mul iple embedded-
ness o he s a e in p o essional-led ne wo ks o inno a ion and in in e na ional
capi al, and by he s a e’s lexible o ganiza ional s uc u e ha enables he e ec-
i emanagemen o hismul iplici y.Thisuneasys uc u eo mul iplealliancesis
h ea ened,howe e ,by hedi icul ieso a agmen eds a es uc u einhandling
158 POLITICS & SOCIETY
he ensions a ising om une en in e na ionaliza ion o socie y and g owing
inequali y.
The I ish so wa e indus y is an in o ma i e case s udy h ough which o ana-
lyze he key cha ac e is ics o his eme ging de elopmen s a egy.5The indus y
has g own apidly, is one o he mos dynamic so wa e indus ies ou side he
Uni edS a es,andisdi ided ela i elyequallyinemploymen e msbe ween o -
eignandI ish-owned i ms.I occupiesaninc easinglysigni ican olein heI ish
economy. So wa e is a signi ican employe in i s own igh , behind only elec-
onic equipmen , ood, and chemicals as indus ial employe s in 1997. I is also
g owing mo e quickly in e ms o employmen han any manu ac u ing sec o .6
The indus y accoun ed o 12 pe cen o I ish expo s in 1998 and, pe haps mo e
impo an , was apidly becoming a model o indus ial policy in o he sec o s o
he economy.
The a icle begins by c i iquing accoun s ha o e emphasize ei he local o
globalp ocesses h oughananalysiso hedynamicso ecen indus ialandeco-
nomic de elopmen in I eland. I hen de elop he concep o he FDS in some
de ail as an al e na i e heo e ical app oach o unde s anding he cen al ea u es
o I ish economic de elopmen . The emainde o he a icle desc ibes he s uc-
u eo heso wa eindus yinI elandandapplies he h eedimensionso he he-
o y oexplain hede elopmen anddilemmaso heI ishso wa eindus y—how
he s a e in e ened in he p ocess o globaliza ion i sel , he social and ins i u-
ional condi ions o his s a e ole, and he h ea posed o de elopmen by social
inequali y.Finally,someissuesconce ning hesus ainabili yandgene alizabili y
o he model a e conside ed.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBALIZATIONS OF IRELAND
Fo some au ho s, he success o he I ish economy since he ea ly 1990s is
based on i s mas e y o localized lexible p oduc ion and inno a ion. Cha les
Sabela gues ha I ishsuccessisbasedon heabili yo I ish i ms olea n heles-
sons o decen alized pos -Fo dis p oduc ion and c ea e local alliances ha sup-
po lea ning, e iciency, and inno a ion.7Local s eng h becomes he basis o
global compe i i eness. Howe e , a a ie y o commen a o s om di e en
endso hepoli icalspec umemphasizeI eland’sloca ionwi hin hep ocesso
globaliza ion as he c i ical ea u e o his u na ound. A pe sis ence wi h expo
o ien a ion, ee ade,and o eignin es men appea s obe hekey oI ishde el-
opmen in he 1990s, o be e o wo se. Denis O’Hea n explains he eme gence
o he Cel ic Tige in he ollowing e ms:
Ame icanco po a ions mademajo mo es oinc ease hei p esencein he Eu opeanma -
ke ; hey ended o agglome a e hei new p ojec s o ake ad an age o he lexibili y his
allowed; and I eland was o una e enough o ecei e a majo sha e o Ame ican-owned
elec onicsp ojec sinEu opebecause heyagglome a eda oundo he majo i mssuchas
In el.8
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 159
The simila i ies in he causal explana ions p o ided by a mo e conse a i e ana-
lys , Paul K ugman, a e s iking (al hough hei e alua ions o he p ocess di e
ma kedly):
Thanks in pa o luck, in pa o policies . . ., I eland go a head s a o e o he Eu opean
loca ions in a ac ing wha became a su ge o inwa d o eign di ec in es men ; he ea ly
in es men s bo h gene a ed a cascade h ough in o ma ional e ec s and, e en ually, c e-
a ed ex e nal economies ha u he ein o ced I eland’s ad an ages.9
In ac , i will p o e necessa y o combine hese “local” and “global” heo ies
op o idea ull accoun o hemul iplewaysin which localandglobal p ocesses
shape di e en modes o in eg a ion in o he global economy and how hey a e
sus ained by pa icula ins i u ions. I ish indus y is cha ac e ized by wo such
b oad modes o in eg a ion in o he global economy, combining local and global
ne wo ksindi e en ways.The i s isbasedona ac ing o eignin es men and
a emp ing o embed i in he local economy, and he second and mo e ecen
modelisbased on he g ow ho indigenousI ish-owned i ms ha compe ein e -
na ionally and a e inc easingly closely in eg a ed in o in e na ional echnology
and business ne wo ks.10
Employmen in o eign-owned indus y g ew 24.8 pe cen in manu ac u ing
and 384.5 pe cen in inancial and in e nally aded se ices (including so wa e)
be ween 1989 and 1998.11 Denis O’Hea n p o ides a cogen c i ique o eliance
on such ansna ional co po a ion (TNC) in es men as a model o economic
de elopmen .12 He a gues ha I ish economic g ow h is la gely an illusion as i is
domina edbyin es men byTNCs,andeconomics a is icsa eg osslyin la edby
he expo s o a e y na ow band o economic sec o s and e en key i ms wi hin
hose sec o s—such as In el in compu e s and Mic oso in so wa e. Indeed, o -
eign p o i s domina e he I ish economy o such an ex en ha he g oss domes ic
p oduc (GDP) o e s a es he size o he I ish economy by some 13 pe cen , as i
does no accoun o he epa ia ion o ansna ionals’ p o i s. This is u he
agg a a edby hep esenceo ce ainsec o s(includingso wa eduplica ion) ha
a e essen ially “en epô ” sec o s, sec o s ha accoun o app oxima ely 10 pe -
cen o manu ac u ing employmen bu a ound 30 pe cen o ou pu .13
While o eign in es men is ce ainly open o a wide ange o c i icisms, he e
a e some indica ions ha a leas pocke s o mo e sophis ica ed wo k ha e
eme ged among TNCs in I eland. In amu al spending on esea ch and de elop-
men (R&D) among o eign-owned companies inc eased om £180m in 1993 o
£256min1995and om2.1pe cen o salesin1993 o2.5pe cen in1995.14 TNC
salesa ece ainlyin la edby ans e p icing15 and a iouso he o mso c ea i e
accoun ing, bu his, in u n, may obscu e some o he esou ces hey gene a e
wi hin heeconomy.Inpa icula ,s a is icsbasedonpe cen ageso TNCsalesa e
likely o unde s a e he sophis ica ion o hei ope a ions, gi en he in la ion o
hese sales igu es. The I ish economy expendi u es o TNCs declined as a pe -
cen age o (a i icially in la ed) sales be ween 1990 and 1996 ( om 37.9 pe cen
160 POLITICS & SOCIETY
o35.2pe cen ),bu heabsolu espendingo TNCsin heI isheconomy ose55.3
pe cen du ing ha pe iod.16 The e is some e idence he e o e o a local upg ad-
ingand embedding o some TNC ope a ions, al hough his is limi ed, as O’Hea n
igh ly poin s ou .
None heless, O’Hea n is oo quick o educe he dynamics o I ish de elop-
men oaTNC-led“en epô ”model,domina edbycompaniessuchasMic oso ,
In el,and Dell. This canno explain he exis enceo some ela i elysophis ica ed
TNC ope a ions. No is he g ow h o indigenous indus y simply de i a i e o
TNC in es men , as e idenced by he da a on he ela i ely limi ed local linkages
o TNCs. C i ics o I eland’s eliance on o eign in es men canno ha e i bo h
ways. Gi en he legi ima e aspec s o he c i ique o he de elopmen al impac o
o eign in es men , i hen canno be a gued ha I ish de elopmen has de i ed
almos comple ely omkeyin es men ssuchasIn elandMic oso .E enwi hin
heTNCsec o , hese i ms emain ela i elyisola edandha eli le odowi h he
mo e in e es ing TNCs such as E icsson, Digi al, and so on. Thei disp opo -
iona eimpac onI ishexpo andg ow h igu esshouldno blindus o hei el-
a i elacko con ibu ion o he e y eal ans o ma iono p oduc ionandinno-
a ioncapabili ies wi hin pa s o heI isheconomy.Finally, he neoco po a is
“social pa ne ship” a angemen s in place since 1987 canno be explained by
O’Hea n’s model as hey a e only o angen ial ele ance o mos o he TNCs.
Mos TNCs a e nonunion employe s o whom wage cos s a e a ela i ely low
p io i y, and hey ha e gene ally paid well abo e he e ms o he na ional wage
ag eemen s.
The spec acula g ow h in he ou pu o TNCs can obscu e he imp essi e pe -
o manceo I ish indigenous indus yinwhichemploymen g ew10.4 pe cen in
manu ac u ing and 197.7 pe cen in in e na ionally aded se ices. This indige-
nous indus y pe o mance is e y imp essi e in compa a i e e ms, all he mo e
sosincei iscu en lyona e y apidg ow h ajec o yasmos o heemploymen
g ow hhasoccu edsince1994.Fu he mo e, hisisno g ow h ha isdependen
on links o TNCs in I eland (which a e gene ally weak)—expo s o I ish-owned
manu ac u ing i msg ew as e han bo h ou pu and employmen be ween1990
and 1996.17 Indus ial R&D in he whole economy inc eased o 1.02 pe cen o
GDP om 0.48 pe cen in 1986 and 0.53 pe cen in 1990. This was achie ed
h ough a pe annum eal a e o g ow h o R&D spending o 15 pe cen among
o eign i ms and 16 pe cen among I ish-owned i ms.18
The claims o au ho s such as Cha les Sabel ha he unexpec ed success o
indus y in I eland is due o an abili y o mas e lexible p oduc ion con ains an
elemen o u h.Indigenous i ms end obesmallandmediumsizedwi ha leas
some e idence o ne wo king among i ms.19 The e is a leas some e idence o
signi ican di usion o eamwo k a he le el o he o ganiza ion o p oduc ion,
al hough no su icien o wa an he mo e en husias ic claims made on I ish
indus y’s behal .20 The pic u e ha eme ges o indigenous indus y is o an o e -
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 161

allupg adingin heo ganiza iono p oduc ionando managemen andma ke ing
capabili ies, esul ing in g ow h sp ead ac oss a ange o sec o s. In es men ,
al hough clea ly no he d i e o de elopmen , has picked up signi ican ly, pa -
icula ly in he mos dynamic sec o s.21
The e a e a numbe o sec o s, in pa icula inancial se ices and IT, ha
exhibi acombina iono buoyan in es men ,highle els o R&D,signi ican le -
els o “collabo a i e p oduc ion,” and “clus e ing” o dense ne wo king and ha
a e he mos dynamic in he I ish economy.22 The so wa e indus y is clea ly
loca ed a his “pos -Fo dis leading edge” o he indigenous sec o , wi hin a con-
ex o o e all upg ading o capabili ies ac oss a b oad ange o indus ies.
Indus ial g ow h has ansla ed in o a much imp o ed employmen pe o -
mance. Be ween 1986 and 1995, ull- ime employmen inc eased by 2.5 pe cen
among men and 21.2 pe cen among women, while pa - ime employmen
inc eased by 24.4 pe cen among men and 36.6 pe cen among women. The I ish
economy has indeed been c ea ing pa - ime jobs apidly, bu i has also c ea ed
signi ican numbe s o ull- ime jobs, e en mo e so in ecen yea s. Fu he mo e,
hejobsc ea edha e no simply been“bad”jobs.In ac ,employmen g ow hhas
been cha ac e ized by an o e all upg ading o he occupa ional s uc u e com-
bined wi h a signi ican pola iza ion o occupa ions and wages. The mos apidly
expanding occupa ional ca ego ies be ween 1981 and 1995 include ca e ing,
pe sonal se ices, sales wo ke s, and secu i y wo ke s—which added 59,000
employees o hei numbe s du ing hese yea s (an inc ease o 35.5 pe cen ).
Howe e , by 1995, he e we e also 94,000 mo e manage s, p o essionals, and
associa ep o essionals—ane enbigge inc easeo 44pe cen .Meanwhile,mo e
classically “Fo dis ” occupa ions such as cle ks, ypis s, ope a i es, anspo
wo ke s, and skilled and c a wo ke s added only 7,000 ex a jobs, and a me s
and labo e s dec eased in numbe by 68,000 o 27.3 pe cen .23
Inequali y has been ising apidly wi hin he I ish economy, in e ms bo h o
he sha e o na ional income going o capi al a he han labo 24 and o wage
inequali y.I elandhasseenwha isp obably hemos apid iseinwageinequali y
wi hin he OECD, despi e being second only o he Uni ed S a es in inequali y in
he 1980s.25 P i a e consump ion’s sha e o GDP has dec eased om a ela i ely
s able igu e o a ound 59 pe cen om 1985 o 1992 o 55.4 pe cen in 1996.26
Fu he mo e, he bo om hal o he income dis ibu ion has seen i s sha e o
na ional household consump ion educed om 28.7 pe cen o 27.2 pe cen .
Al hough GDP has g own apidly du ing ha pe iod and absolu e consump ion
has inc eased in eal e ms o all deciles o he income dis ibu ion, he inc eases
ha e been meage indeed o he poo es 40 pe cen , a end e lec ed in he con-
inuing po e y (e en by ela i ely es ic i e de ini ions) o 15 pe cen o 16 pe -
cen o heI ishpopula ionbe ween1987and1994.27 None heless,while heI ish
economy has undoub edly c ea ed many “bad” jobs, i is also c ea ing a signi i-
can numbe o “good” jobs.
162 POLITICS & SOCIETY
The so wa e indus y has gene a ed a disp opo iona e numbe o hese
“good” jobs and is one o he leading sec o s wi hin bo h o eign and indigenous
indus y. Be o e u ning o a de ailed in es iga ion o he de elopmen o he
indus y, I will de elop he cen al concep applied in ha analysis— he lexible
de elopmen al s a e.
BUREAUCRATIC AND FLEXIBLE DEVELOPMENTAL STATES
“Local” and “global” pe spec i es on indus ial de elopmen a e one-
dimensional and insu icien ly dynamic in hei analyses. Combining hese pe -
spec i es o in es iga e he mul iple ways in which local and global p ocesses
shape one ano he o e ime allows us o iden i y spaces and oppo uni ies o
de elopmen s a egies, e en wi hin an inc easingly in eg a ed global economy.
Choices emain as o how bes o in eg a e in o global lows and ne wo ks. The
s a e emains a cen al ac o in he p ocess o shaping hese choices, building
be e o wo se de elopmen pa hs ou o hese agmen s o local and global ne -
wo ks. Howe e , he ways in which he s a e media es be ween local and global
ne wo ks and he ins i u ional ounda ions o his ole in I eland a e di e en in a
numbe o signi ican espec s om he Eas Asian bu eauc a ic de elopmen al
s a es.
I is necessa y hen o explain he eme gence o each se o global connec ions
ha cha ac e ize he I ish economy and i s so wa e indus y, and hei su p ising
abili y o coexis . Fu he mo e, we need o p o ide a comp ehensi e heo e ical
amewo k ha canexplainbo h heposi i eexpe ienceso economicg ow hand
occupa ionalandindus ialupg ading and he dis u bingmassi esocialpola iza-
ion ha accompanies hem.
I is oadd ess hese heo e icalweaknessesand oaccomplish heseanaly ical
goals ha I de elop he concep o he lexible de elopmen al s a e ha is applied
o he so wa e indus y case h ough he es o his a icle. The mos in luen ial
analyses o he ole o he s a e in de elopmen ha e analyzed he success o he
Asian Tige economies such as Japan and Ko ea. De elopmen al s a es a e he
mos likely candida es o boos ing an economy beyond he na ow logic o p i-
a ein es men and he ebyimp o ingi sposi ionin hein e na ional di isiono
labo . They achie e hei goals in he con empo a y e a no by aking on he asks
o de elopmen hemsel esbu byshaping hecapabili ieso socie yand hema -
ke odoso.Resea che s ha emo ed omanemphasisonanau ho i a iandi ec-
i e s yle o s a e in e en ion o an unde s anding o how he s a e pokes and
p odsdomes ic i ms ocompe ein heglobaleconomyand ocons an lyupg ade
hei o ganiza ional and echnical capabili ies o ha end. The s a e assis s in he
bi h and g ow h o domes ic, na ional i ms h ough i s ole as “midwi e” o new
i msandsec o sandby ending o he“husband y”o heseg owingindus ies.28
Th ough policies such as selec i e and s a egic use o p o ec ionism, he p o i-
sion o indus ial subsidies, and p og ams ied o pe o mance, as well as he c e-
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 163
a iono close iesbe ween inancialcapi al,indus ialcapi al,and hes a e,econ-
omies such as Japan, Ko ea, and Taiwan we e able o indus ialize apidly based
onimp o edp oduc i i yinmanu ac u ingand“indus ializa ionbylea ning.”29
Howe e , he s a ecanno achie e heseendsinisola ion;in ac ,i dependson
i s ela ion o socie y o i s success. In pa icula , de elopmen al s a es a e cha -
ac e ized by wha Pe e E ans calls “embedded au onomy.” Such s a es a e
embedded in local capi al h ough he close social ies be ween s a e bu eauc a s
anddomes icbusinessowne sandmanage s.Whileaneduca edlabo o ceo ga-
nized o lea ning is c i ical, labo is excluded om he key ins i u ions o he
bu eauc a ic de elopmen al s a e.30 These s a es e ain hei au onomy due o
he p esence o a classic Webe ian bu eauc acy—based on me i oc a ic ec ui -
men and p omo ion and no ms o objec i e, p ocedu al a ionali y.31 While
embeddedness allows he s a e o ga he in o ma ion and mobilize esou ces,
au onomy sa egua ded by bu eauc acy gua an ees ha na ional de elopmen
goals emain cen al o s a e ac ion.32 Fo his eason, I label he de elopmen al
s a es o Eas Asia bu eauc a ic de elopmen al s a es (BDSs).33
Bu success can b ing i s own dilemmas. The de elopmen al s a e p omo es
local i ms and encou ages hem o compe e globally. In becoming global i ms,
howe e , hei alliances wi h he s a e a e unde mined as hey become mo e and
mo e closely aligned wi h he in e es s o hei in e na ional pa ne s. In he la e
1990s, he Asian de elopmen p ojec ’s basis in he domes ic alliance be ween
s a e and capi al was unde mined as Asian i ms in e na ionalized, became mo e
in eg a ed in o in e na ional inancial ma ke s, and an in o a massi e deb c isis
as Asian and U.S. capi alis ins i u ions clashed, unde mining he high deb
inancing o he Asianco po a ions.Themuch-admi edcohe enceo hebu eau-
c acy now became a liabili y as i s esponsi eness o changing local and global
condi ions p o ed o be poo .
The heo y o he de elopmen al s a e has been a aluable one ha has shed a
g ea deal o ligh on he condi ions o e ec i e na ional de elopmen s a egies.
Ne e heless, he heo y is ela i ely weak in explaining he ole o he s a e in
newly eme ging economies such as I eland and Is ael, as well as in wha E ans
desc ibesas“in e media ecases”suchasIndiaandB azil.34 The e o e,i mus be
ex endedalongi s h eeunde lying dimensions—s a e in e en ionin he global-
iza ion p ocess, condi ions o embedded au onomy, and h ea s o s a e in e en-
ion ha eme gedynamically du ing hede elopmen p ocess— ode elopacon-
cep ion o a “ emade” FDS.
Table 1 ou lines he di e ences be ween BDSs and FDSs along each o hese
h ee dimensions. Fi s , BDS heo is s analyze s a e in e en ion in he economy
la gely as a p ocess o he c ea ion o new domes ic capabili ies ha can hen be
b ough o bea in global ma ke s. The global economy is heo ized la gely as a
con ex in which s a es and na ional capi als can compe e. Howe e , unde he
globaliza ionp ojec , ansna ional i ms,ne wo ksand lowso money,in o ma-
164 POLITICS & SOCIETY
ion, and esou ces ha e deeply pene a ed he mos success ul locali ies and
na ions. The e o e, he ole o he s a e is inc easingly o media e be ween he
global and he local, o connec hem, and o shape he na u e o he ela ionship
be ween hem. The s a e may also be in ol ed in c ea ing he e y ac o s ha i
hopeswillpa icipa ein heseglobal-localconnec ionsand hede elopmen p oj-
ec mo e gene ally. While he BDS also p omo ed he c ea ion o economic
ac o s,i ocusedonhie a chicalbusinessg oupsas“na ionalchampions”ins ead
o ansna ionally in eg a ed local ne wo ks.35 This is he i s ex ension o BDS
heo y— he unde s anding o he ole o he de elopmen al s a e as media ing
local and global connec ions.
The FDS is de ined p ecisely by i s abili y o c ea e and anima e pos -Fo dis
ne wo ks o p oduc ion and inno a ion and in e na ional ne wo ks o capi al, and
o link hem oge he in ways ha p omo e local and na ional de elopmen . The
FDScana emp odo hisin wop ima yways.I canconnec oexis ing lowso
capi al by a ac ing o eign di ec in es men (FDI) and hen building local ne -
wo ks o p oduc ion ( ypically subsupply) and inno a ion (much mo e a ely)
a ound his “impo ed” indus ialo ganiza ion.I can alsoa emp o os e indig-
enous ne wo ks o inno a ion and hen encou age hem o in e na ionalize, bu
om a posi ion o ela i e s eng h. In ei he case, he s a e de elopmen s a egy
is o connec he local o he global economy in such a way ha local indus ial
ans o ma ion, accumula ion, and de elopmen can ake place. The FDS plays a
key ole in os e ing “be e ” connec ions o he global.
The I ish s a e, in ac , played a c i ical ole in “scaling up” social ne wo ks
wi hin local echnical communi ies in o an inno a i e and g owing indus y.
These e o s we e o ganized la gely h ough a a ie y o indus ial de elopmen
agencies ha p omo ed an indigenous de elopmen al e na i e o eliance on o -
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 165
Table 1
Bu eauc a ic and Flexible De elopmen al S a es
Bu eauc a ic De elopmen al S a e Flexible De elopmen al S a e
Shaping globaliza ion Managing dependency Media ing global connec ions
– S a egic use o p o ec ionism – Building local ne wo ks
a ound global capi al
– Indus ial subsidies – Taking local inno a ion
ne wo ks global
– Domes ic banking sys em
Sou ces o embedded Cohe ence o s a e bu eauc acy Flexibili y o s a e s uc u e
au onomy Embedded in Embedded in
– Domes ic capi al – P o essional labo
– Fo eign capi al
Th ea o sus ainabili y In e na ionaliza ion o capi al In e na ionaliza ion o socie y
Rigidi y o s a e bu eauc acy F agmen a ion o s a e
S a es and Globaliza ions
P o ec ionis measu es we e eased a e he 1950s o o eign in es o s in he
Republic o I eland and we e emo ed en i ely in 1964. The s a e became he key
ac o in a ac ing o eign in es men , and a ac ing mobile in es men became a
dominan policygoal o he ollowing o yyea s.Among hec i icalelemen so
I eland’s loca ional ad an age we e e y gene ous ax incen i es and g an s, as
wellasa ansna ional- iendlyen i onmen includingno es ic ionson he epa-
ia iono p o i s.A e p o idingalow-o no- axen i onmen since he1950s,a
new policy in 1978 p o ided 10 pe cen co po a ion ax o all manu ac u ing
om 1981 o 2000 inclusi e. This was ex ended o i ms in he in e na ionally
adedse ices sec o (including so wa eand da a p ocessing) in 1981andgua -
an eed un il 2010 he same yea . Recen ly a 12.5 pe cen co po a e ax a e has
been gua an eed un il 2025.
In la e yea s, a wo ld-class elecommunica ions sys em and, in pa icula , a
young and coope a i e labo o ce ha e a guably been as o mo e impo an .
Howe e , he s a e’s g ea es e o s we e dedica ed o he mobiliza ion and
es uc u ing o local socie y h ough he c ea ion and shaping o a “sui able”
labo o ce. A s a e-led eo ien a ion o he educa ion sys em owa d echnical
educa ion was ein o ced o e ime by he inc easing in luence o he new col-
leges ocused on echnology,whosesuccesspu p essu eon heexis inguni e si-
ies o change hei o ien a ion o echnical and scien i ic educa ion and o os e -
ing links wi h indus y.51
Thes a ewasplaceda cen e s ageinindus ialpolicybyi se o s ocon inu-
allyupg ade hese “ ac o so p oduc ion.” I ookon he ole o “midwi e” o o -
eignin es men .52 Thesepolicyandins i u ionalchangeshad hedesi ede ec o
a ac ing ex ensi e amoun s o o eign in es men , including such so wa e
i ms as Mic oso , Lo us, No ell, and Co el. The e has been some local embed-
ding o hese i ms in a e i o ial complex a ound he Dublin egion based on a
subsupplie base in u nkey se ices and so wa e manual p in ing.
The s a e has played a cen al ole in suppo ing he g ow h o hese
subsupplie indus ies, pa icula ly by p o iding inance and ad ice o he en e-
p eneu s in hese newly min ed sec o s and by coo dina ing ela ions among
I ish-bo nmanage so TNCsand heseeme ging i ms.P in ing i ms, o exam-
ple, ecei ed signi ican unding om he IDA o he expensi e new Web p in
echnologies equi ed o so wa e manual p in ing.53
Fu he mo e, he IDA began o a ge ha dwa e companies in he ea ly 1980s,
encou aging hem o expand hei so wa e ope a ions. Some TNC subsidia ies
ha e been able o de elop such ope a ions. This is pa icula ly he case in mo e
gene al IT and elecommunica ions companies such as Digi al, Amdahl, IBM,
Siemens Nixdo , Phillips, E icsson, o ATT/Lucen Technologies. As he man-
age o one o hese ope a ions said, “We ha e go mo e han he Mic oso and
Lo us subsidia ies. The di e si y o ou pa en company helps us a lo in ha .”
172 POLITICS & SOCIETY

Many policymake s did indeed hope ha he TNCs a ac ed o I eland would
in imespino a angeo I ish-owned i ms.Thishashappened oalimi edex en
in he so wa e indus y, al hough i p o ides only one piece o he puzzle o he
indus y’sg ow h.One- hi do he esponden sinas udyo hi y-sixindigenous
so wa e en ep eneu s had wo ked in a TNC di ec ly be o e s a ing hei own
company—ei he in TNCs in he IT sec o o in he IT sec ions o TNCs in o he
sec o s.Two- hi dso indigenous en ep eneu shad wo ked o a TNC in I eland
a somes ageo hei ca ee s,hal hadwo kedab oadinso wa eo a ela edsec-
o ,andhal hadwo kedin asec o ha wasnowacus ome o hei i m.54 Di ec
spin-o s o so wa e i ms om so wa e TNCs a e ela i ely a e, howe e .
While his in e na ional and cus ome expe ience migh be expec ed gi en he
dominanceo TNCsin heI isheconomyand hemassemig a iono he1980s,i
has been a aluable sou ce o expe ience o many echnical en ep eneu s.
Ne e heless, hese igu es alone canno explain why hese indi iduals did
indeedul ima elylea e heTNCsands a ou on hepa ho indigenousen ep e-
neu ship a he han aking he mo e common ou esun il he ea ly 1990s o emi-
g a ion o long- e m TNC employmen . Re u n emig a ion did no become a sig-
ni ican ac o un il a e he g ow h dynamic o I ish so wa e was well unde
way, al hough i was clea ly impo an in sus aining ha g ow h. No can i
explain hein e nalg ow hdynamico heindigenousindus y— hemos signi i-
can pa o he indigenous s o y. The same s udy showed ha ano he hi d o so
hadcomedi ec ly om indigenous so wa e i ms,while he inal hi d hadcome
om indigenous i ms in o he sec o s, mos no ably so wa e dis ibu ion and
compu e ha dwa e. The e o e, he dynamic o gene a ing new companies is
s onges in he indigenous sec o and especially wi hin he so wa e indus y
i sel .
Sohowdid heindigenous so wa eindus y eme ge om he icious ci cle o
TNC dependence and p o essional emig a ion? The s a e, h ough i s hea y
in es men in educa ion, had c ea ed a new class basis o an indigenous echno-
logyp omo ionandbusinessexpansionagenda.Thedange he ewas,o cou se,a
massi e b ain d ain ha did indeed ake place. Howe e , o hose who s ayed, a
numbe s a ed hei own companies and combined wi h a ickle o people om
he o eign-owned sec o and om use o ganiza ions o o m a cons i uency ha
could suppo s a e agencies p omo ing indigenous de elopmen . Wha did he
s a e agencies do o suppo he de elopmen o his new cons i uency?
The i s elemen o he agencies’app oach was o de ine he o ien a ion o he
I ish so wa e indus y. In i s s a egic e iew o 1992, he Na ional So wa e
Di ec o a e (NSD) iden i ied so wa e p oduc s clea ly as he majo ocus o he
I ish indus y, making o icial wha had been he a i ude o he s a e agencies o
some ime.55 Fu he mo e, he NSD iden i ied he need o so wa e p oduc i ms
o expo ea ly in hei de elopmen , due o he small size o he I ish domes ic
ma ke , as a c i ically impo an issue o he I ish indus y. The s a e agencies
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 173
ocused henonencou aging i mswi hso wa ep oduc s o expo ,beingmuch
mo e ecep i e o such i ms in hei g an applica ions and designing some s a e
suppo s(especiallyin hea eao ma ke ing)so ha heywe e o ien edmainly o
he p oblems o p oduc expo ing.
Indus ial policy also began o shi h ough he 1980s owa d a g ea e ocus
on indigenous indus y and a g ea e selec i i y in g an gi ing.56 Howe e , he
s a eagenciesul ima ely ocusedno onlyon“pickingwinne s,”which heydid o
some ex en , bu also on a mo e gene alized s a egy o “making winne s” ou o
he many i ms hey deal wi h by upg ading he capabili ies o he indus y as a
whole. To al g an paymen s by s a e agencies o indigenous so wa e companies
inc eased om IR£ 3 o 3½ million pe annum be ween 1988 and 1990, up o 5.4
million in 1991, and 5.66 million in 1992.57 Fo bai , he p ima y agency dealing
wi hindigenous i msa he ime,alsobecamemo edemandingo heindigenous
companies p esen ing p oposals o hem. As one I ish emig an s ockb oke in
Silicon Valley pu i o me: “I hink Fo bai ha e been g ea . The e’s a lo o
money o companies, bu you ha e o be good; you almos ha e o be selling in
B i aino Eu opebe o eyouge heg an s.Fo bai a e e y ough.”Thisle elo
inancing o he indigenous so wa e indus y was e y signi ican in he con ex
o a se e e sho age o o he capi al sou ces o he indus y. In ac , much o he
ea ly en u e capi al ha did become a ailable o he indus y was induced in o
he indus y by s a e ac ions.
Fo bai , now pa o En e p ise I eland, ies he inance i p o ides o i ms o
a ious aspec s o company de elopmen —in pa icula , R&D, ma ke ing, and
managemen de elopmen . A s iking aspec o R&D unding is he c i ical
impo ance o s a e and EU unding in he ea lie pe iod—accoun ing o almos
30 pe cen o unding di ec ly and, since many o hese unds we e p o ided on a
ma ching- unds basis, o a ound hal o all R&D unding in he indigenous so -
wa e companies in 1993. These go e nmen al policies, he e o e, we e c i ical in
s imula ingR&Din heea lie s ageso heindus y’sde elopmen .Anexecu i e
in Fo bai wo king closely wi h so wa e companies old me ha Fo bai
a emp s o p o ide o each s age o he de elopmen o a company— easibili y
g an sasseedcapi al o s a -ups,employmen g an s o heea lyg ow hphase,
and hen unding o R&D, aining, and managemen de elopmen o he com-
pany de elopmen phase.
Theimpac o hisapp oachon i msseems o ha ebeenposi i e.Whilemany
i mscomplainabou headminis a i edemandso illingou g an applica ions,
analysis o g an -aided and non-g an -aided i ms shows ha h ough he ea ly
1990s, a leas g an -aided i ms signi ican ly ou pe o med non-g an -aided
i ms—bo h in he so wa e indus y and in he economy as a whole.58 Fu he -
mo e, many i ms hemsel es say ha hey ha e ound s a e suppo help ul,
whichisimp essi egi enmanymanage s’skep icismo s a eac ion.59 The e o e,
he agencies a e clea ly aking a sel -consciously de elopmen al app oach o
174 POLITICS & SOCIETY
companiesaswellas o heindus yasawhole,e en hough hisapp oachiso en
couched in he mo e neolibe al language o en e p ise.60
The I ish de elopmen agencies lea ned how o upg ade he capabili ies o
i mswi hinadecen alizedindus y,askillqui edi e en om hoseo heBDS
bu eauc a s. Howe e , hey also wen beyond his ole and played a signi ican
pa in os e ing and de eloping he social ne wo ks and associa ional li e unde -
pinning inno a ion in he indus y. They ha e ins i u ed “so e ” suppo s such as
he men o ing scheme, whe e small companies a e pu in ouch wi h expe ienced
indus y igu eswho o a ela i elysmallsumbecomea“guide,philosophe ,and
iend” o he company, some imes ul ima ely becoming company di ec o s. The
agenciesalsoused heg an -aidp ocessasanoppo uni y oin o mallys imula e
connec ions among i ms wi hin he indus y, d awing on hei de ailed knowl-
edgeo o he i msaccumula ed h ough heg an -aidp ocess.ThesameFo bai
execu i e men ioned abo e a gued ha
he de elopmen agencies lea ned ha he lone ange app oach doesn’ wo k. A com-
pany needs pa ne s, he men o ing p og am helped wi h ha . The agencies also played
anin o mal oleinin oducingpeople.Tha ’ssome hingwewouldha epushed, hepa -
ne ships. The o he hing he agencies pushed was he capi al issue, Fo bai has been
p iming en u e capi al unds....Ou ole is no picking winne s bu “helping o make
winne s.”I ’s oodi icul op edic winne s opick hem,o he wisewewouldn’ need o
be wo king! A lo o ou discussions wi h companies a e no ega ding he money bu
ega dingbusinessissues....The eisalo o companycapabili yde elopmen wo k;we
we elessp oac i e han ha in hedayso COPS[anindigenouscompany ha wen bus
in 1990]. The agencies ha e gone om being unding agencies o doing company
de elopmen .
Fu he mo e, a ne wo k o indus y and ade associa ions, uni e si ies, inno-
a ion and echnology cen e s, and o he o ums and g oups ha e been c ea ed
ha p o ide an associa ional in as uc u e o in o ma ion sha ing, coope a ion,
and inno a ion in I ish so wa e. While hese bodies a e ou side he s a e o
semiau onomous om i , in mos cases hey ha e been ounded h ough s a e ini-
ia i es and unde w i en by s a e gua an ees and unding. Typically, hey a e
loca ed in uni e si ies and ha e ep esen a i es om he s a e, business, and edu-
ca ion on hei boa ds.
Some b ie examples should illus a e he key ole o hese ins i u ions. The
Na ional Mic oelec onics Applica ion Cen e (MAC) was ounded in he ea ly
1980s and was cha ged wi h b inging elec onics o I ish indus y. Based in he
Uni e si yo Lime ick, i p o ides echnicalad ice and housesup- o-da eequip-
men o indus y use and is epo ed by in e iewees o ha e had close ela ions
wi h many so wa e i ms. The di ec o o MAC old me he ollowing:
Ou co eskill is hede elopmen cycle, a he hananypa icula echnicala ea.Wespend
a lo o ime alking wi h en ep eneu s—90 pe cen may decide ha hei idea is no on,
usually because he idea is ou he e al eady o hey a e oo soon o oo la e is-à- is he
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 175
echnology cu e. We ge a lo o business om he emaining 10 pe cen . Typically, he
people we a e dealing wi h, i ’s hei i s ime h ough he cycle, hey ge upse a any
shocks.
Thec i icalpoin he eis ha he eisaneduca ional e u n o heindus yin e ms
o he90pe cen whodono pu sueadoomedp ojec ,e en houghMACdoesno
ecei e anypaymen om hese companies. Indeed, hep ima y ole o MAC is a
mo e specialized educa ional con ibu ion han he de elopmen agencies can
p o ide:
We can lay ou he po en ial o sma p oduc s o he en ep eneu s. We’ e helped in ha
ega d,we ha e aneduca ion ole,wecanguideen ep eneu s, wepush hemon i s -class
global s anda ds, le hem know wha is expec ed.
In he la e 1980s, he P og amme in Ad anced Technologies (PAT) was es ab-
lished, including so wa e. The so wa e PAT consis ed o h ee cen e s ini ially.
Pe haps he cen e wi h he mos impac on he so wa e indus y i sel has been
he Cen e o So wa e Enginee ing (CSE), loca ed a Dublin Ci y Uni e si y.
Al hough he ini ial PAT p oposal called o a ce ain amoun o esea ch wi hin
he PATs, he CSE’s ole has been mainly p omo ional and in o ma ional. In pa -
icula , i has p omo ed quali y in so wa e p oduc ion and he ISO 9000 quali y
s anda d and has had a majo impac on he so wa e indus y h ough i s cou ses
and a ious o ms o in o ma ion dissemina ion.61 In his i was no doub helped
byi sgood ela ionshipwi hDublinCi yUni e si y,whe ei isloca edandwhe e
i hadac uallybeen oundedin1989be o ebeingb ough in o heso wa ePATin
1990.Fu he mo e, he e a eclose ela ionswi hindus yas heCSEboa d spans
academia, indus y, and s a e agencies. The o he wo PAT cen e s—Mul imedia
Technologies I eland and he Na ional Ins i u e o Managemen Technology—
an in o mo e di icul ies. Bo h o hese cen e s we e mo e ocused on smalle
cons i uencies, he small mul imedia indus y, and execu i es in business ou side
o high ech, espec i ely, and his made hei ela ion o he so wa e PAT some-
wha p oblema ic. Wi hin hese cons i uencies, howe e , hey we e easonably
welle alua ed.62 Ingene al,in ac ,mos o hePATschemesha e ecei ed a o -
ablee alua ions,noma e wha sec o heya ein.None heless,bo ho hesecen-
e s we e closed o sold in a eo ganiza ion o he PAT scheme in 1997.
Thes a ehasalsobeenins umen alines ablishingindus yassocia ions. One
such inno a ion cen e and indus y associa ion is he Localiza ion Resou ces
Cen e(LRC),es ablisheda Uni e si yCollegeDublin(UCD)unde he echnol-
ogycen e sscheme.The LRCp omo es quali yand esou cesha ingin helocal-
iza ion sec o o he so wa e indus y and has been ins umen al in se ing up he
success ulindus y o um, heSo wa eLocaliza ionIn e es G oup(SLIG).This
is no he only indus y associa ion se up by a s a e agency— he Mul imedia
TechnologyIns i u e (MTI) helped o s a he I ish In e ac i eMul imediaAsso-
cia ion, which pe sis s a e he demise o MTI, while he NSD has a close ela-
176 POLITICS & SOCIETY
ionshipwi h heI ishSo wa eAssocia ion(al hough ha bodyhas beeninexis-
ence since he 1970s).
Ano he agency unded by he EU bu playing a somewha di e en ole is he
NSD.TheNSDwases ablishedwi hin heIDA,al houghi mo ed obecomepa
o Fo bai when heagencieswe e eo ganizedin1994. I s ole,whilesomewha
unclea a i s , has e ol ed so ha i has become a cen al ocal poin wi hin he
s a e agencies o dealings wi h so wa e. Al hough he e e yday wo k o g an
assessmen is ca ied ou by he In e na ional Se ices P og amme wi hin
Fo bai , he NSDis ep esen ed ong an -gi ingcommi ees.I also ul illsmany
o he educa ional and ne wo king oles discussed abo e in ela ion o he s a e
agencies.Howe e , heNSDisp ima ilyas a egiclinkbe ween heindus yand
he s a e de elopmen agencies. Fu he mo e, he NSD cons an ly moni o s and
e iews he key issues o he so wa e indus y and he ope a ion o he ins i u-
ionsandin as uc u esuppo ing heindus y.I hasbeenap imemo e in e o-
cusing he ac i i ies o he PATs and in he deba es o e a g owing p essu e on
skills and he issue o access o capi al.
The e is he e o e a ne wo k o ins i u ions p o iding echnical and business
in o ma ion o a ious kinds and deg ees o specializa ion o di e en sec o s
wi hin he so wa e indus y. These ins i u ions p o ide a way in which he s a e
can p o ide an e e yday impe us owa d wo ld-class echnical, business, and
quali ys anda dswi hou in ol ingi sel di ec lyin egula ing he i ms—amea-
su e ha wouldbe deeply unpopula .The s a o hesecen e s become he e e y-
day eache sandad ise so heindus y.Howe e , heyalsoga he ag ea dealo
up- o- he-minu e in o ma ion om he indus y and can be a aluable sou ce o
in o ma ion o he cen al s a e agencies when hey need o make apid shi s o
adjus men s in policy. They a e la gely s a ed by people wi h backg ounds in
indus y hemsel es who some imes main ain ha in ol emen on a pa - ime
basis.63
Va ious s a e agencies ha e played c i ical oles in de eloping he I ish so -
wa eindus y.IDAI elandhasbeen e ye ec i eina ac ing o eignin es men
andsomewha success ulinp omo ing heupg adingo TNCac i i iesandde el-
opmen o subsupplie s. O he s a e agencies ha e played key oles in de eloping
a high alue-added indigenous so wa e sec o . In pa icula , s a e ac ions ha e
beenable os ee I ish echnicalp o essionalsaway om he emp a ionso TNC
employmen o emig a ion and in o he pe ils, and po en ially luc a i e ewa ds,
o small- i m en ep eneu ship. The s a e has also been able o shape he capaci-
ies and cul u e o he indus y h ough i s emphasis on p omo ing inno a ion,
business de elopmen , and ne wo king ac oss he indus y.
The wo modes o in eg a ion in o he global economy o he I ish so wa e
indus y a e only angen ially linked o one ano he . Howe e , he s a e has been
c i ical o heeme genceo eachglobaliza iono I ishso wa e.Howwasi possi-
ble o he s a e o play his ole o each o hese globaliza ions, and how has i
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 177

been possible o hem o be pu sued simul aneously wi hou one o e whelming
he o he ? He e we u n o ou unde s anding o he mul iple embedded au ono-
mieswi hin heI ishs a eand he lexibleo ganiza ionals uc u e ha econciles
hem wi hin he s a e i sel .
Embedded Au onomy h ough Flexibili y
The s a e agency mos closely linked o TNCs is he IDA, es uc u ed as IDA
I eland since 1994. The IDA was ounded in 1949, ook on a mo e cen al ole in
a ac ing o eignin es men in heea ly1960s,andby hela e1960shadbecome
he cen al agency in o mula ing and implemen ing indus ial policy.
I hasde elopedclose ieswi hmanyTNCs—ab oadandinI eland.These ies
a e i s o med h ough he IDA’s in e na ional o ices. The p ojec o ice s in
hese ou Eu opean,sixU.S.,and i eAsia-Paci ico iceses ablishanea ly ela-
ionshipwi hmanycompaniesin hei a eaandul ima elyhand hecompanieso
o hei coun e pa s in I eland. The IDA also plays a c i ical ole in p o iding
o hese i ms’needs once hey a e es ablished in I eland, p o iding a “one-s op
shop” o so s o hem wi hin he I ish poli ical economy. As one long ime TNC
manage said,“We’ e a li le cu o ou he ebu weha ea good ela ionship wi h
heIDAo ice s.Icanalways ingKie an[McGowan— henCEOo IDAI eland]
anyway.”Theseclose ies olocalmanage so TNCsa eimpo an owha e o s
a e made o p essu e he TNC subsidia ies o con inue o make e o s o upg ade
hei ope a ions. O en hese local and in e na ional ies a e combined o good
e ec . Fo example, ies o a TNC head o ice migh be use ul in de eloping a
close ela ionshipbe weenanI ishsupplie i mand hepa en i min heUni ed
S a es—as one IDA o ice old me: “Some imes we ha e o use ou con ac wi h
heU.S. o ge a ound helocalTNCmanage who’s ying oge all he c edi o
himsel and won’ ell head o ice abou his supplie in I eland.”
The IDA is a quasi-independen s a e agency, al hough i ecei es i s unding
om, and mus epo o, he Depa men o En e p ise, T ade and Employmen
and he cabine minis e in ha depa men . In 1969, he IDA became an agency
ou side o he ci il se ice s uc u e and i has become inc easingly independen ,
un il ecen yea s, o he es o hes a e economic de elopmen egime.Un il he
ea ly1990s,mos o heini ia i esinindus ialpolicywe ede eloped h ough he
IDA. Al hough i s boa d membe ship changes, i s execu i e leade ship has been
e y s able and he IDA has de eloped a s ong co po a e iden i y o i s own. I s
placeou side hecon en ionalci ilse icegi es i a lexibili yinin e nal o gani-
za ion and a eedom o maneu e ing ha is unusual o s a e agencies. Wi h
s ong in e nal p omo ion pa e ns and li le mobili y ou o he IDA, i o ms a
e ycohesi euni wi hin heI ishs a e wi h as ong ocus oni sgi en objec i es
o a ac ing FDI. I has also been able o build up signi ican skills in e nally in
e ms o knowledge o in e na ional ma ke s and he poli ics and economics o
indus ial loca ion. The IDA is embedded in he TNCs and au onomous om he
178 POLITICS & SOCIETY
es o he s a e, indica ing he di icul ies o a emp ing o shape he ac ions o
TNCs.
The embedded au onomy o he s a e agencies p omo ing he indigenous
indus yis qui edi e en ,and hese agenciesha ealwayshad adi icul ela ion-
shipwi h heIDAandi sdominan posi ionwi hin hes a e.TheIDA’sau onomy
wi hin he I ish s a e ins i u ionalized an indus ial policy ocus on a ac ing o -
eign in es men . Such ins i u ionaliza ion appea s o be a c ucial elemen o he
e ec i eness in he medium o long e m o any policy agenda, as i allows he
accumula ion o esou ces, skills, and poli ical legi imacy and alliances. How-
e e , his also means ha an exis ing agenda is likely o “c owd ou ” o he agen-
das, unless hey hemsel es can c ea e “sa e” ins i u ional spaces whe e hey can
a oid an a ack om he exis ing egime. Such spaces did no eme ge o he p o-
mo ion o indigenous indus y un il he 1980s.
None heless, he e had always been elemen s wi hin he I ish s a e ha had
conce ned hemsel es wi h indigenous de elopmen . Wi hin he IDA i sel , p o-
g amswe epu suedin he1970s ela ing oindigenousindus y,al hougha ac -
ing FDI domina ed he o ganiza ional objec i es, cul u e, and skills o he IDA.
The e we e, howe e , a se ies o o he s a e bodies ha ca ed ou some space
a ound he agenda o p omo ing science, echnology, and inno a ion and ha
we e la gely o ien ed owa d indigenous indus y. These s a e ins i u ions elied
hea ily on EU unds o hei ac i i ies, and many o hei p og ams we e unded
in la ge pa by Eu opean S uc u al Funds. These unds we e designa ed o I e-
land as pa o an e o o de elop he pe iphe al egions o he EU in he ace o
he upcoming Single Eu opean Ma ke in 1992. Many commen a o s ha e a ib-
u edI eland’sg ow h o hisin luxo EUcapi al.Howe e , hesigni icanceo he
S uc u al Funds was ha hey we e he means by which a a ie y o new, some-
imesexpe imen al,measu escouldbe akenwi hou ha ing o igh he es o he
s a eagencies o unding.Thenewde elopmen egimecouldde elopalongside
heoldanddidno ha e ochallenge heoldde elopmen modeldi ec ly o unds
and p io i y, excep in a e cases. Such a e he oppo uni ies wi hin a “ne wo ked
poli y”64 o local and na ionaland ansna ional ac o s o o gingnewcoali ions
ha bypass exis ing na ional powe s uc u es—e en, as in cases such as his,
whe e he ul ima e goal is na ional economic ans o ma ion.
Agenciessuch as heNa ional Boa d o Scienceand Technology(NBST)and
he NSD we e embedded in he eme ging echnical p o essional class h ough
pe sonal and associa ional ne wo ks. Key indi iduals pu sued ca ee s ha
spanned p i a e, public, and semipublic o ganiza ions, making he bounda ies
be ween hese di e en sphe es po ous and os e ing inc easedin e ac ion ac oss
hoseo ganiza ionalbounda ies.This,in u n, imp o ed he agencies’capaci y o
make and implemen e ec i e policy. The i s di ec o o he NSD,65 Ba y
Mu phy, had been he managing di ec o o Insigh So wa e—an I ish company
sold o Hoskyns om he Uni ed Kingdom in 1988. Di ec o o he NSD un il
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 179
1996,he mo ed on o wo k wi h heCullinaneG oupI eland(CGI), an o ganiza-
ion ounded by U.S. so wa e indus y e e an John Cullinane o in es in I ish
so wa ecompaniesbu ha alsoca iesou esea chon heso wa eindus yand
boos s I ish high- ech. Mu phy was also in ol ed in w i ing he s a egy docu-
men published by he I ish So wa e Associa ion in Ma ch 1998. The second
di ec o o NSD,Jenni e Condon,came om heindus y owo kon hema ke -
ing side o he Na ional So wa e Cen e (a s a e-sponso ed cen e suppo ing
indus y de elopmen and ca ying ou esea ch) in he mid-1980s. She was hen
managing di ec o o ICL’s IT Cen e in Dublin om 1988 un il 1996, when she
joined he NSD.
The pos o di ec o o he NSD is i sel a empo a y one ha ensu es ha he
di ec o ul ima ely e u ns o heindus yinsomeguise.Thes a o heNSDcon-
sis o he di ec o and h ee o he s a membe s— wo o whom a e om wi hin
hes a ede elopmen agenciesanda hi dwi habackg oundin heindus y.This
also ensu es a combina ion o embeddedness in he indus y and a ce ain au on-
omy o ocus and objec i es. The e also is a g oup o p ominen so wa e manag-
e swhoha ebeenin ol edinpolicyini ia i eswi hin heindus y,ei he h ough
heindus y adeassocia ion, heI ishSo wa eAssocia ion,o aspa icipan sin
policy consul a ion g oups such as he So wa eIndus yWo kingG oupin1989
o heSo wa eConsul a i eCommi eea hep esen ime.Fu he mo e, he eis
a signi ican o e lap wi h he educa ional sec o , as p ominen compu e science
and enginee ing academics ha e liaised closely wi h indus y and he s a e in a
a ie y o o ums.
Au onomy om hei business cons i uency is main ained by he pe o mance
equi emen s placed on he a ious agencies, cen e s, and p og ams. These
equi emen sa egi enacu ingedgeby he egula e alua iono p og ams—and
publica ion o hose e alua ions.66 Fu he mo e, poo e alua ions can esul in
closu e,sale,o eo ganiza iono suchp og ams.Fo example,aspa o hisp o-
cess o cons an shi ing and expe imen a ion wi h s a e and semis a e agencies,
he Na ional Ins i u e o Managemen Technology was sold, MTI es uc u ed,
and he Cen e o So wa e Enginee ing gi en new esponsibili ies. This can
occu a hele elo eo ganiza iono heagencies hemsel es.Theseincluded he
Na ionalScienceCouncil, oundedin he la e 1960s, and i s successo , he NBST
ounded in 1977. In he mid-1980s, science and echnology policies we e eo ga-
nized signi ican ly wi h a new O ice o Science and Technology being o med
unde a minis e o s a e (a junio cabine minis e ) in wha was hen he Depa -
men o Indus y and Comme ce. The NBST was me ged wi h he Ins i u e o
Indus ialResea chand S anda ds in 1987 o o mEolas,a new science and ech-
nology agency. A ound he same ime, a ious agencies we e consolida ed in o
one agency o deal wi h ac i e labo ma ke policy (FÁS) and in o ano he o deal
wi h expo ma ke ing (An Bo d T ách ála). In 1994, Fo bai , an agency ocused
solely on indigenous indus y, was c ea ed inco po a ing mos o he s a and
180 POLITICS & SOCIETY
unc ions o Eolas and he I ish Indus y sec ion o he IDA. In 1998, An Bo d
T ách ála was me ged in o Fo bai , al hough unde some p o es om local
i ms,which ea edalosso ma ke ingassis ance.Finally, hese a iousagencies
we e olded in oEn e p iseI eland,which consolida ed heseagenciesunde one
ins i u ional oo .
This expe imen a ion can also ope a e wi hin an exis ing agency ha changes
i s ocus o e ime. Due o he equi emen s o he EU unde s, cen e s such as
LRC, CSE, and NSD a e subjec o signi ican and de ailed ex e nal e alua ion.
They a e also ul ima ely subjec o he con ol o he s a e and will he e o e also
e lec b oad policy conce ns. Fo example, he CSE has been se ing a ge s o
heup akeo quali y p ocedu eswi hin heindus y asa whole.In 1997, he CSE,
a he eques o he NSD, ins iga ed p og ams aimed a di using quali y p oce-
du esin osmallso wa e i ms,basedoni sp io successa di usingsuchp oce-
du es among he la ge i ms.
This loosely coupled and lexible o ganiza ional s uc u e has no eme ged
wi hou ongoing ensions. In pa icula , he IDA was peculia ly powe ul wi hin
heI ishs a e,and hishelps oexplain heweaknesso heins i u ionssuppo ing
indigenous indus y un il he la e 1980s. I ook he massi e social and economic
c isis o he 1980s o delegi ima e he IDA’s ole as he sole bea e o he ask o
I ish indus ial ans o ma ion. I was in o his es ic ed ins i u ional space ha
he alliance o I ish echnical p o essionals and he p e iously ma ginalized “sci-
enceand echnology”s a eagenciess epped osuppo indigenousindus y,in he
p ocess c ea ing he delica e comp omise a he hea o he FDS.
Inequali y, F agmen a ion, and Sus ainabili y
Despi e he ela i ely success ul adap a ion o s a e s uc u es o he mul iple
globaliza ionso I ish indus y,andso wa ein pa icula , hisisno as o ywi h-
ou i s own ensions and da ke sides. These globaliza ions ha e occu ed wi hin
he con ex o a mac oeconomic s abiliza ion secu ed since 1987 by a na ional
neoco po a is “social pa ne ship” comp omise. Rising inequali y has c ea ed
signi ican ensions be ween he ins i u ionalized globaliza ions o so wa e (and
simila indus ies) and he ins i u ions o na ional neoco po a ism.
Wage inequali y has inc eased d as ically in I eland since he la e 1980s, a
whichpoin i wasal eadyoneo hemos unequalOECDna ionsinanycase.The
majo componen o ha inc ease in inequali y has been a g owing gap be ween
hemiddleand he opo heincomedis ibu ion.While hea e ageincomeo he
op 10 pe cen was 195 pe cen o he median income in 1987, by 1994, ha pe -
cen age had g own o 224 pe cen . Al hough he supply o skilled labo has
inc eased apidly, i has s ill been ou s ipped by demand, and inc easing e u ns
oeduca ionaccoun o asizeablep opo iono hisg ow hinwageinequali y.67
The I ish case is clea ly an excep ion o he endency in e na ionally o
neoco po a ism o lessen wage inequali y. This is explained, as a as can be old
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 181
ion o na ional economies, limi ing he des uc i e endencies owa d egula o y
compe i ion. Any such poli ical p ojec ha does eme ge is inc easingly likely o
wage i s ba les on he e ain cu en ly s aked ou by he FDS.
NOTES
1. See Chalme s Johnson, MITI and he Japanese Mi acle (S an o d, CA: S an o d
Uni e si yP ess,1982);AliceH.Amsden,Asia’sNex Gian :Sou hKo eaandLa eIndus-
ializa ion (Ox o d, UK: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 1989); Robe Wade, Go e ning he
Ma ke (P ince on, NJ: P ince on Uni e si y P ess, 1990); S ephen Hagga d, Pa hways
om he Pe iphe y: The Poli ics o G ow h in he Newly Indus ializing Coun ies (I haca,
NY: Co nell Uni e si y P ess, 1990); Richa d Applebaum and Je ey Hende son, eds.,
S a es and De elopmen in he Asian Paci ic Rim (London: Sage, 1992); Pe e E ans,
Embedded Au onomy (P ince on, NJ: P ince on Uni e si y P ess, 1995); Me edi h
Woo-Cumings,ed.,TheDe elopmen alS a e(I haca,NY:Co nellUni e si yP ess,1999).
2. See Jason Ded ick and Ken K aeme , Asia’s Compu e Challenge: Th ea o
Oppo uni y o he Uni ed S a es and he Wo ld? (Ox o d, UK: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess,
1998) ega ding compe i i e di icul ies. Fo mo e on he deb c isis, see Nicole Bigga ,
“DeepFinance—TheO ganiza ionalBases o Sou h Ko ea’sFinancialCollapse,”Jou nal
o Managemen Inqui y7(1998):311-320;andase ieso a iclesbyRobe Wade,includ-
ing“TheComingFigh o e Capi alFlows,”Fo eignPolicy113(1998):41-54;“TheAsian
Deb -and-De elopmen C isiso 1997-?:CausesandConsequences,”Wo ldDe elopmen
26 (1998): 1535-53; “F om ‘Mi acle’ o ‘C onyism’: Explaining he G ea Asian Slump,”
Camb idge Jou nal o Economics 22 (1998); “The Asian C isis and he Global Economy:
Causes, Consequences, and Cu e,” Cu en His o y 97 (1998): 361-73; Robe Wade
and F ankVene oso,“TheAsianC isis:TheHighDeb Model e sus heWallS ee -T ea-
su y-IMF Complex,” New Le Re iew 228 (1998): 3-24.
3. I eland e e s he e o he wen y-six coun ies o he Republic o I eland.
4. Paul Sweeney, The Cel ic Tige (Dublin: Oak T ee P ess, 1998).
5.Thisa icled awshea ilyon heanalysisinSeánÓRiain,“AnO sho eSiliconVal-
ley?”Compe i ionandChange2(1997):175-212;SeánÓRiain,“Remaking heDe elop-
men al S a e: The I ish So wa e Indus y in he Global Economy” (Ph.D. diss., Depa -
men o Sociology, Uni e si y o Cali o nia, Be keley, 1999).
6. McI e Consul ing, Manpowe , Educa ion and T aining S udy o he So wa e Sec-
o (Dublin: Fo ás Áiseanna Sao hai , 1998).
7.Cha lesSabel,I eland:LocalPa ne shipsandSocialInno a ion(Pa is:O ganiza-
ion o Economic Coope a ion and De elopmen , 1996).
8. Denis O’Hea n, Inside he Cel ic Tige : The I ish Economy and he Asian Model
(London: Plu o, 1998), 153.
9. Paul K ugman, “Good News om I eland: A Geog aphical Pe spec i e,” in Alan
G ay, ed., In e na ional Pe spec i es on he I ish Economy (Dublin: Indecon, 1998), 51.
See also chap e s by Je ey Sachs and Kenne h A ow in he same olume.
10. See Ó Riain, “An O sho e Silicon Valley?” o an accoun o how local and global
p ocessesshapedeacho he o e ime oc ea eeacho hese woglobaliza ionso heso -
wa e indus y.
11. Fo ás, Su ey o Employmen (Dublin: Fo ás, 1998).
12.O’Hea n,Inside heCel icTige ;DenisO’Hea n,“Globaliza ion,‘NewTige s’and
he End o he De elopmen al S a e? The Case o he Cel ic Tige ,” Poli ics & Socie y 28
(2000).
188 POLITICS & SOCIETY

13. Pa ick Honohan, Be and Mai e, and Cha les Con oy, “In isible En epô Ac i -
i y in I ish Manu ac u ing,” I ish Banking Re iew, summe 1998.
14. Fo ás, Resea ch and De elopmen in he Business Sec o : Findings om he 1993
Census o R&D Pe o ming En e p ises in I eland (Dublin: Fo ás, 1995); Fo ás, Su ey
o P oduc and P ocess Inno a ion in I ish Indus y 1993-1995 (Dublin: Fo ás, 1997).
15.JimS ewa ,“T ans e P icing:SomeEmpi icalE idence omI eland,”Jou nalo
Economic S udies 16 (1989): 40-56.
16. Cen al S a is ics O ice, Census o Indus ial P oduc ion 1990 (Dublin: Cen al
S a is ics O ice, 1991); Cen al S a is ics O ice, Census o Indus ial P oduc ion 1996
(Co k, I eland: Cen al S a is ics O ice, 1997).
17. Ibid.
18. Fo ás, Su ey o P oduc and P ocess Inno a ion, 30-32.
19. Na ional Economic and Social Council, Sus aining Compe i i e Ad an age: P o-
ceedings o NESC Semina , Resea ch Se ies no. 4 (Dublin: Na ional Economic and Social
Council, Ma ch 1998).
20.JohnGea y, “TheNewWo kplace: Changea Wo kinI eland,”In e na ionalJou -
nal o Human Resou ce Managemen 10 (1999): 879; William K. Roche and John Gea y,
“ ‘Collabo a i e P oduc ion’and he I ish Boom: Wo k O ganiza ion, Pa ne ship and Di ec
In ol emen in I ish Wo kplaces,” Economic and Social Re iew (2000), o hcoming.
21. Na ional Economic and Social Council, P i a e Sec o In es men in I eland,
Repo no.103(Dublin:Na ionalEconomicandSocialCouncil,Feb ua y1998),chap.2.
22. On in es men , see Na ional Economic and Social Council, P i a e Sec o In es -
men ; on esea ch and de elopmen (R&D) and indigenous indus y mo e gene ally, see
Ma y O’Sulli an, “The Sus ainabili y o Indus ial De elopmen in I eland” (pape p e-
sen ed o Dublin Economics Wo kshop, Dublin, Ap il 1999); on sec o al and o he ac o s
a ec ing collabo a i e p oduc ion, see Gea y, “The New Wo kplace,” 879-86; on clus e -
ing, see Na ional Economic and Social Council, Sus aining Compe i i e Ad an age.
23. Figu es on occupa ional change om Paul Tansey, I eland a Wo k: Economic
G ow h and he Labou Ma ke 1987-1997 (Dublin: Oak T ee P ess, 1998), 41.
24. O’Hea n, Inside he Cel ic Tige , 125.
25. Alan Ba e , Tim Callan, and B ian Nolan, “Rising Wage Inequali y, Re u ns o
Educa ion and Labou Ma ke ins i u ions: E idence om I eland,” B i ish Jou nal o
Indus ial Rela ions 37 (1999): 77-100.
26. O’Hea n, Inside he Cel ic Tige , 126.
27. Tim Callan e al., Po e y in he 1990s: E idence om he Li ing in I eland Su ey
(Dublin: Oak T ee P ess, 1996).
28. E ans, Embedded Au onomy.
29. Amsden, Asia’s Nex Gian .
30.Amsden,Asia’sNex Gian ; F edDeyo,Benea h heMi acle:Labo Subo dina ion
in he New Asian Indus ialism (Be keley: Uni e si y o Cali o nia P ess, 1989).
31. E ans, Embedded Au onomy; see Pe e E ans and James Rauch, “Bu eauc acy and
G ow h: A C oss-Na ional Analysis o he E ec s o ‘Webe ian’S a es S uc u es on Eco-
nomic G ow h,” Ame ican Sociological Re iew 64 (1999): 748-765 o c oss-na ional
quan i a i e e idence ega ding he bene icial g ow h e ec s o bu eauc acy.
32. E ans, Embedded Au onomy; Syl ia Max ield and Ben Schneide , eds., Business
and he S a e in De eloping Coun ies (I haca, NY: Co nell Uni e si y P ess, 1997).
33.Fo di e encesamong heAsianTige economies,seeMa coO ù,NicoleBigga ,
and Ga y Hamil on, The Economic O ganiza ion o Eas Asian Capi alism (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997). The Ko ean model has he mos au ho i a ian s a e and co po a e
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 189
s uc u es,Japancombines“co po a ismwi hou labo ”wi h“en e p iseunionism,”while
Taiwan has a much less hie a chical poli ical and co po a e s uc u e.
34. E ik Olin W igh , “Re iew o P. E ans ‘Embedded Au onomy,’” Con empo a y
Sociology 25 (1996): 176-77.
35.Fo c i iqueso Pe e E ans’sina en ion o hes a e’s oleincons i u ingeconomic
ac o s as well as guiding hei ac ions, see Da id S a k and Laszlo B usz , Pos socialis
Pa hways: T ans o ming Poli ics and P ope y in Eas Cen al Eu ope (Camb idge, UK:
Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 1998) and Nicole Bigga and Mau o Guillen, “De eloping
Di e ence: Social O ganiza ion and he Rise o he Au o Indus ies o Sou h Ko ea, Tai-
wan, Spain, and A gen ina,” Ame ican Sociological Re iew 64 (1999): 722-47.
36. The posi ion o p ime minis e .
37. Ch is Ansell, “The Ne wo ked Poli y: Regional De elopmen in Wes e n Eu ope”
(Depa men o Poli icalScience,Uni e si yo Cali o nia,Be keley,1999,mimeog aphed).
38.Neil B enne , “GlobalCi ies,Glocal S a es: GlobalCi yFo ma ionand S a eTe i-
o ialRes uc u inginCon empo a yEu ope,”Re iewo In e na ional Poli ical Economy
5 (1998): 1-37; “Beyond S a e-Cen ism? Space, Te i o iali y and Geog aphical Scale in
Globaliza ion S udies,” Theo y and Socie y 28 (1999).
39.Onloosecoupling,seeJ.DouglasO onandKa lE.Weick,“LooselyCoupledSys-
ems: A Reconcep ualiza ion,” Academy o Managemen Re iew 15 (1990): 203-23;
Cha les Pe ow, Complex O ganiza ions (New Yo k: Random House, 1986), chap. 4.
40. On modes o con ol in decen alized o ganiza ional o ms, see Wol V.
Heydeb and, “New O ganiza ional Fo ms,” Wo k and Occupa ions 16 (1989): 323-57.
41. On au ocen ic de elopmen , see Sami Amin, Unequal De elopmen (New Yo k:
Mon hly Re iew P ess, 1976); Die e Senghaas, The Eu opean Expe ience: A His o ical
C i ique o De elopmen Theo y (Do e , NH: Be g, 1985).
42.SeánÓRiain,“AnO sho eSiliconValley?”;NeilCoe,“UST ansna ionalsand he
I ish So wa e Indus y,” Eu opean U ban and Regional S udies 4 (1997): 211-30.
43. Localiza ion o so wa e e e s o he p ocess o cus omizing exis ing so wa e
packages o speci icna ionalandlinguis icma ke s.Themainac i i yis he ansla iono
he ex , bu i may also in ol e changing da e o ma s, le e o ma s, and o he cul-
u e-speci ic aspec s o he so wa e. In U.S. so wa e companies, he wo k o designing
heso wa ep og amso ha i can be cus omizedin his wayis calledin e na ionaliza ion
andisgene allyca iedou in heUni ed S a es.The wo ko ac uallycus omizing hep o-
g am o speci icma ke siscalledlocaliza ion.Thiswo kis ela i elyuncomplica ed.See
Honohan, Mai e, and Con oy, “In isible En epô Ac i i y,” o an analysis o indus ial
s a is ics ela ing o hese ac i i ies.
44. Ó Riain, Remaking he De elopmen al S a e, 81.
45. The Is aeli so wa e indus y was es ima ed o ea n app oxima ely $700 million in
expo s in 1997 (including indigenous and ansna ional co po a ion [TNC] i ms), while
he alue o Indian so wa e indus y expo s ose o $1,750 in 1997-98. Expo s o I ish
indigenous i ms came o $713 million and hose o TNCs o (an in la ed igu e o ) $5,615
million.Ca eshouldbe akeninusing hese igu es ocompa e he h eeindus iesas he e
a ea numbe o di e encesin how he igu eswe e calcula ed. Howe e ,i is clea ha he
I ish indus y is o a simila o de o magni ude as he indus ies in India and Is ael. The
I ish indus y’s expo o ien a ion is simila o ha o he Indian indus y, al hough he
Indian indus y’s expo s consis la gely o o sho e de elopmen and in e na ional labo
con ac ing. See Balaji Pa hasa a hy, “Indus ializing Coun ies and he Changing In e -
na ional Di ision o Labo in he Compu e So wa e Indus y: Lessons om he Indian
Case 1977-1997” (pape p esen ed o he Sloan Founda ion Globaliza ion Wo kshop,
DukeUni e si y,Du ham,NC,26-28Ap il1998).TheI ishindus yisclose o heIs aeli
190 POLITICS & SOCIETY
and indeed he U.S. indus y in i s g ea e ocus on so wa e p oduc s and a oidance o
la ge-scale labo con ac ing. Fu he mo e, hese a e he leading in e na ional so wa e
indus ies ou side he G-7 ( he leading capi alis economies, which mee as a g oup on a
egula basis). The o he leading con ende s such as Taiwan, Singapo e, and Aus alia a e
wellbehind he“ h eeI’s”o globalso wa e.SeeDed ickandK aeme , Asia’sCompu e
Challenge. O he eme ging indus ies such as Hunga y and China ha a e likely o p o e
signi ican in he long e m a e s ill ela i ely unde de eloped.
46.Theda ain hisa iclecome om120in e iewsca iedou inSiliconValleyandin
I elandbe weenOc obe 1995andSep embe 1997,indus yjou nalsando he documen-
a y sou ces, and a su ey o so wa e i ms in I eland ca ied ou in June and July 1997.
The esponse a e o he su ey was an abo e-a e age 54.5 pe cen , he sample was
eweigh ed o e lec he size and owne ship o he su ey popula ion, and six companies
we e emo ed om he sample because hey ecei ed mo e han 60 pe cen o hei e e-
nues om ha dwa e.
47. Na ional So wa e Di ec o a e, 1995 So wa e Indus y Su ey Resul s (Dublin:
Fo bai , 1995).
48. Ga y Ge e i, “The In e na ional Economy,” in Neil Smelse and Richa d
Swedbe g, eds., The Handbook o Economic Sociology (P ince on, NJ: P ince on Uni e -
si y P ess/Russell Sage Founda ion, 1994); Benne Ha ison, Lean and Mean (New Yo k:
Basic Books, 1994).
49.Da idJacobsonandDa idO’Sulli an,“AnalysinganIndus yinChange:TheI ish
So wa e Manual P in ing Indus y,” New Technology, Wo k and Employmen 9 (1994):
103-14; “The I ish So wa e Manual Indus y: Globaliza ion h ough Local Supply?”
(pape p esen ed a “I eland, Eu ope & he Global In o ma ion Socie y: A Con e ence o
Social Scien is s,” Dublin, 24-25 Ap il 1997); Indus ial De elopmen Au ho i y, “The
I ish So wa e Indus y,” in o ma ion pamphle , n.d.
50. Union densi y ell om 48.3 pe cen in 1992 o 43.5 pe cen in 1997. The only
sec o ha inc eased union densi y is Public Adminis a ion and De ense, wi h a union
densi y o 74.1 pe cen in 1997. By con as , Comme ce, Insu ance, Finance and Busi-
ness Se ices (including so wa e) ell om 31.6 pe cen o 29.0 pe cen in 1997. Da a
gene ously p o ided by William K. Roche, G adua e School o Business, Uni e si y
College, Dublin.
51.Pa ickClancy,“TheE olu iono PolicyinThi d-Le elEduca ion,”inD.Mulcahy
and D. O’Sulli an, eds., I ish Educa ional Policy: P ocess and Subs ance (Dublin: Ins i-
u eo PublicAdminis a ion,1989);Robe Osbo ne,Highe Educa ioninI eland:No h
and Sou h (London: Jessica Kingsley, 1996).
52.E ans,EmbeddedAu onomy;seeO’Hea n,“Globaliza ion,NewTige sand heEnd
o he De elopmen al S a e” o applica ion o he concep o he s a e as “midwi e” o
a ac ion o o eign in es men .
53. Jacobson and O’Sulli an, “Analysing an Indus y in Change.”
54. Colm O’Go man, Eoin O’Malley, and John Mooney, Clus e s in I eland: The I ish
Indigenous So wa e Indus y: An Applica ion o Po e ’s Clus e Analysis (Dublin:
Na ional Economic and Social Council, 1997), 35.
55. Na ional So wa e Di ec o a e, The So wa e Indus y in I eland: A S a egic
Re iew (Dublin: IDA I eland, 1992).
56. Eoin O’Malley, “De elopmen s in I ish Indus ial Policy since he Mid-1980s”
(pape p esen ed a he special con e ence o he Poli ical S udies Associa ion o I eland
“TheS a eo he I ish Poli ical Sys em,”Co k, I eland, 28-30 May 1992); Eoin O’Malley,
Kie anA.Kennedy,andRo yO’Donnell,Repo o heIndus ialPolicyRe iewG oupon
he Impac o he Indus ial De elopmen Agencies (Dublin: S a ione y O ice, 1992).
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 191
57. Ann Cla ke, So wa e Suppo P og amme: Final Repo (Dublin: EU S uc u al
Funds Ope a ional P og amme o Indus ial De elopmen E alua ion Uni , 1995). These
a e hela es yea s o which igu esa ea ailable,al hough o als a eexpendi u eonbusi-
ness de elopmen has con inued o inc ease.
58.Onso wa e,seeCla ke,So wa eSuppo P og amme. Onall i ms,seeO’Malley,
“De elopmen sinI ishIndus ialPolicy,”andO’Malley,Kennedy,andO’Donnell,Repo
o he Indus ial Policy Re iew G oup.
59. Cla ke, So wa e Suppo P og amme; O’Go man, O’Malley, and Mooney, Clus-
e s in I eland.
60. Pa icia Ca , “‘Riding he Jugge nau ’: Selec i i y and En ep eneu ship in I e-
land,” I ish Jou nal o Sociology 5 (1995): 67-88; “The Cul u al P oduc ion o En e p ise:
Unde s anding Selec i i y as Cul u al Policy,” Economic and Social Re iew 29 (1998):
133-55.
61. Cla ke, So wa e Suppo P og amme, chap. 7.
62. Ibid., chaps. 8-9.
63.Fo amo ecomple eanalysiso heseando he associa ions,agencies,and o ums,
see Ó Riain, Remaking he De elopmen al S a e, chap. 4.
64. Ansell, “The Ne wo ked Poli y.”
65.Thehead o he Na ional So wa e Di ec o a e, cha gedwi h de elopingpolicy o ,
and p omo ing, he so wa e indus y in I eland, pa icula ly indigenous i ms.
66. See, o example, Cla ke, So wa e Suppo P og amme; gi e Fo ás e e ences.
67.An honyA kinson, Lee Rainwa e ,andTimo hySmeeding, Income Dis ibu ionin
OECD Coun ies: E idence om he Luxembou g Income S udy (Pa is: O ganiza ion o
Economic Coope a ion and De elopmen , 1995); Ba e , Callan, and Nolan, “Rising
Wage Inequali y.”
68. John Gea y, “Ini ial Resul s om he Na ional Su ey o Employee Rela ions and
HumanResou ceP ac iceinI eland,”wo kingpape ,Smu i BusinessSchool,Uni e si y
College Dublin, 1998.
69. Summa y quo e om Ba e , Callan, and Nolan, “Rising Wage Inequali y,” 95.
Nei he ha e ecen changes in ax and social wel a e done any hing o mi iga e hese
inequali ies.Al hough edis ibu ionwassigni ican be ween 1987 and 1994, ax and wel-
a echanges om1995 o1998 esul edin hepoo es 30pe cen o hepopula ionmaking
2 pe cen less han i hei income had inc eased a he same a e as he a e age inc ease in
income o he popula ion. Du ing he same pe iod, he op 10 pe cen o ea ne s bene i ed
om axchanges o heex en ha heymade4pe cen mo e hanwouldha ebeen hecase
i hey had simply ollowed he a e age income inc ease. Fo he 1987-94 pe iod, see Tim
Callan and B ian Nolan, “Income Inequali y in I eland in he 1980s and 1990s,” in F ank
Ba y, ed., Unde s anding I eland’s Economic G ow h (London: Macmillan, 1999),
167-92. Fo he 1995-98 pe iod, see Tim Callan, B ian Nolan, and John Walsh, “Income
TaxandSocialWel a ePolicy,”inT.Callan, D.Du y,T.Fahey,B.Feeney,B.Nolan,
P. O’Connell, S. Sco , and J. Walsh, eds., Budge Pe spec i es (Dublin: Economic and
Social Resea ch Ins i u e/Oak T ee P ess, 1998).
70.SeánÓRiain,“Time-SpaceIn ensi ica ion:I ishSo wa eDe elope sin heGlobal
Wo kplace,”inM.Bu awoy,J.Blum, S.Geo ge,Z.Gille, T. Gowan,L.Haney, M.Klawi e ,
S. Lopez, S. Ó Riain, and M. Thaye , Global E hnog aphy (Be keley: Uni e si y o Cali-
o nia P ess, o hcoming).
71. Pa O’Conno , Eme ging Voices: Women in Con empo a y I ish Socie y (Dublin:
Ins i u e o Public Adminis a ion, 1998).
72.P opo ionscalcula edonbasiso da ainCen alS a is icsO ice,HouseholdBud-
ge Su ey 1987 (Dublin: Cen al S a is ics O ice, 1988), 44-45, and Cen al S a is ics
192 POLITICS & SOCIETY
O ice, Household Budge Su ey 1994 (Co k, I eland: Cen al S a is ics O ice, 1997),
46-47.
73.Thiscanonlybeagg a a edby heg owinginequali ybe ween hesha eo na ional
income going o capi al and o labo and he abili y o owne s o capi al o shel e ha
income om ax h ough in e na ional inancial ins umen s, as pa ially e ealed in a
se ies o ecen inancial and ax scandals.
74.Fo a de ailed discussiono hese issues,seeÓ Riain,Remaking he De elopmen al
S a e, chap. 8. On ends owa d agmen a ion in indus ial ela ions, see William K.
Roche, “Be ween Regime F agmen a ion and Realignmen : I ish Indus ial Rela ions in
he 1990s,” Indus ial Rela ions Jou nal 29 (1998): 112-25.
75. Wo ld Bank, The Eas Asian Mi acle (Washing on, DC: Wo ld Bank, 1993);
O’Hea n, “Globaliza ion, New Tige s and he End o he De elopmen al S a e?”
76. O’Hea n, “Globaliza ion, New Tige s and he End o he De elopmen al S a e?”
77. Ansell, “The Ne wo ked Poli y.”
78. On Du ch egional policy, see B enne , “Global Ci ies, Glocal S a es.” On
neoco po a ism in he Ne he lands, see Jelle Visse and An on Heme ijck, A Du ch Mi a-
cle? (Ams e dam: Ams e dam Uni e si y P ess, 1997).
79. Gio anni A ighi, The Long Twen ie h Cen u y (London: Ve so, 1994).
80. On local s a e co po a ism, see Jean Oi, Ru al China Takes O (Be keley: Uni e -
si y o Cali o nia P ess, 1999). On he cen al and local s a es in China, see Michael
Bu awoy, “The S a e and Economic In olu ion: Russia h ough a China Lens,” in Pe e
E ans, ed., S a e-Socie y Syne gy: Go e nmen and Social Capi al in De elopmen
(Be keley: In e na ional and A ea S udies, Uni e si y o Cali o nia, Be keley, 1997),
150-77.
81. On in e i m ne wo ks, see Ded ick and K aeme , Asia’s Compu e Challenge.On
ansna ionalcommuni ies,seeAnnaLeeSaxenian,SiliconValley’sNewImmig an En e-
p eneu s (San F ancisco: Public Policy Ins i u e o Cali o nia, 1999). On co po a e
inance, see Bigga , “Deep Finance.”
82. Philip McMichael, De elopmen and Social Change: A Global Pe spec i e (Thou-
sand Oaks, CA: Pine Fo ge P ess, 1996).
83. Philip Ce ny, “Globaliza ion and he Changing Logic o Collec i e Ac ion,” In e -
na ional O ganiza ion 49 (1995): 595-625.
84.F i zScha p ,Go e ninginEu ope(Ox o d,UK:Ox o dUni e si yP ess,1999).
SEÁN Ó RIAIN 193