Consumption growth also remained strong in 2006, buoyed up by the continued growth in employment and earnings. In contrast, export growth was quite muted. The volume of exports of goods and services grew by just 4.4 per cent, mostly due to trade in services. This implies a decline in Ireland’s share of world trade.
In this respect, it is clearly ahead of the recent surge in ethical finance and socially responsible finance that are becoming quite popular in the Western world.