Hirschman and Irish Industrial Policy

In this article we examine the origins of Whitaker’s export oriented industrial policy and the political management of its implementation. Whitaker appointed academic economic advisors, including Louden Ryan, to a Capital Investment Advisory Committee in 1956. The advice from this committee was to become a cornerstone of Whitaker’s industrial policy. Using the archives of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI), we show that industrial policy at its inception was shaped by the economic theories of Hirschman (1958). Hirschman’s theories were adopted for Ireland’s vision of economic development via the writings and counsel of Ryan.