Summary: <a href="https://twitter.com/notesonthefront" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Michael Taft</a> is the Research Officer for <a href="http://www.unitetheunion.org/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Unite the Union</a> in Ireland. He is also a writer who appears frequently on <a href="http://www.broadsheet.ie/tag/michael-taft/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Broadsheet</a> and the <a href="http://www.irishleftreview.org/author/michael-taft/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Irish Left Review</a>, and writes his own blog at <a href="http://notesonthefront.typepad.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Unite’s Notes On The Front</a>.<br> This is the <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS?order=wbapi_data_value_2014+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=desc" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">World Bank economic openness index</a> that I mentioned that shows that Ireland has a more open economy than the countries that Michael compares us to. This measure actually understates the openness of Ireland’s economy, because it is calculated using Ireland’s GDP, which is artificially inflated by multinational transfer pricing for tax reasons. Despite this, Ireland is in the same league as Hong Kong and Singapore, not Scandinavian countries.<br> I mentioned to Michael that average wages for electricity workers in the republic were double those of the north. I actually understated the position, as of 2011, <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/revealed-a-startling-array-of-perks-on-offer-for-esb-staff-26767643.html" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">the figures, excluding pension costs were €85,000 in the republic and €41,000 in the north</a>.<br>
