Lasting Expansion of Domestic Demand and Labor Supply Is Broken: Yes, Ireland Really Is Dying

Ireland doing the fail, pulling a Pittsburgh at Pacific Standard magazine.

Theme: "Dying" places and geographic stereotypes.

Subject Article: "Irish Demographic Dividend Reversal."

Other Links: 1. "Ireland Is Dying."
2. "Detroit Postmortem."
3. "Struggling, San Jose Tests a Way to Cut Benefits."
4. "Rust Belt of Silicon Valley: San Jose Is Dying."
5. "A Return to Downtown Birmingham."
6. "The convergence of the twain."
7. "How Mexican Brain Drain Saved Mexico."

Postscript: To slap the label of "dying" on a city such as Portland (Oregon) or Boston is ironic. It's ironic because of preconceived notions and subjective geographies, not rigorous analysis. Our perceptions of place influence economic development outcomes:

Helmreich is a great advocate for the Bronx, which he says could be the next Brooklyn—a target, or perhaps a beneficiary, of gentrification. We walked along Grand Avenue near 180th Street, a cheerful neighborhood of small, squared-off row houses, each with a gated driveway and a neatly kept garden. Many of the houses were flying Puerto Rican flags; more Puerto Ricans live in the Bronx than in any other borough. We passed a shady green park. “Is this a war zone?” Helmreich asked. “Is that a disgusting park in the slums? When people get it into their heads that the Bronx isn’t as dangerous as they think it is, everything’s going to change.”

You go where you know. For now, most people don't know the Bronx. The same used to be true of Brooklyn. Our mental maps shape migration patterns. Whether or not a place is really dying is rather beside the point.